Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force
by Blue Bongo
Summary: The year 5091. Humanity has visited the stars and evolved into part of a great galactic community in a time of peace and harmony. All that is about to change, as an ancient threat arises. Cancelled... Sorry.
1. Today: Part One

Chapter One. Today: Part One.

* * *

The year 5090. An age of prosperity, a time of social and technological advancements. In past years, humanity has travelled to the stars, realising what a select few had already come to know, that they were not alone in the universe. That the beings known as Pokémon who had already inhabited the Earth were not of that planet, yet they were the evolution of their ancestors, alien races who had already visited the Earth in the past, forced to stay there. When the first human met the first Poké Alien, something special was born. A universal society headed up by the central hub of the galaxy, the Stronghold, a huge space station holding the ruling power body of this universe, the Council of Gak'rah. A society based on the principle of coexistence and cooperation...

"Hit me!"

At the request, Richel Groern immediately obliged, reaching out to punch his colleague in the face, Bandro Roselli taking it like he had to. That didn't stop him whimpering from the force of the blow, the skin split almost completely apart from the forfeit.

"Good hit," Roselli conceded, grimacing as he spoke, the small stream of light blue blood trickling down his cheek. Not about to let the wound become infected, he reached up to hold it shut with his forefinger and thumb, still wincing as it started the relatively quick process of healing.

"You two are completely insane," the female voice of Meekra Sangsten commented, rolling her eyes. "You're meant to be responsible scientists, yet you're playing a primitive version of Tech Ball."

"You're watching us play a primitive version of Tech Ball," Groern pointed out. "What does that make you?"

"Hey, I'm just a common First Mate of an intergalactic frigate," Sangsten answered, sarcastically. "What do I know?"

"She does have a point," Roselli commented, still pinching his cheek. "What does she know?"

"I hope for your sake that you just made a joke," Sangsten replied, mock seriously. "Otherwise, I'd have to report you to the bureaucrat assigned to investigate incidents of sexism on intergalactic freights."

"You have one of those on this ship?" Groern asked, surprised by the admission.

"Yeah, his office is right next to the airlock," Sangsten replied, still sarcastic. "It's ever such a tragedy when I get confused and direct morons to the wrong room."

"You're evil," Roselli said, winking at her. "You've got that streak of maliciousness that's really appealing."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"That's how it was meant."

* * *

"This is the RSS Pastoria requesting permission to land."

Walking into the cockpit, Sangsten heard the final part of the pilot's request to the ground control on the planet below them. Almost involuntarily, she glanced over to one of the windows, taking a deep glance at the dark red surface of the planet. Lucofa. That was the official name that had been given to the planet below.

"Roger, RSS Pastoria, this is Lucofa Ground Control. What's the nature of your visit?"

The unofficial name for Lucofa, a title that had been forced upon it by those who had discovered it many many years earlier, a team of Magmavore pirates, was Noieba.

"We have a small team of scientists from the Stronghold wishing to investigate an incident on planet," Irain Helzi replied. He was small and slight, his appearance similar to a Mr. Mime, apart from his lime green skin and dark blue cheeks. Ever since she had known him, Sangsten had been curious about the strange colours of his body, rather different than normal to the colours that a Memiorte was normally famous for.

"Stand by for standard examination of your ship, any sign that things are not as you claim will result in your imprisonment and the impoundment of your ship."

"Roger than, Ground Control," Helzi said, nodding his head slightly, even though they couldn't see him. "Starting descent now."

As the RSS Pastoria began to descend, Sangsten shot another look at the planet, thinking of what she had heard.

Noieba was the Magmavore word for Damnation.

* * *

"Being on this planet is a very bad idea," Helzi whined, glancing around the space port where they had been forced to dock. "Ships that go here tend to vanish off the radar."

"Good thing we've got that great tracking beacon then," Captain Helgusin remarked. He was a brown furred Bibloian, a Bibarel like creature from the planet Swam. "Relax, it's not going to happen to us. This is an official Council ship, they try to hijack us there will be repercussions of the most quick and efficient kind."

"That's not normally what I'd call bureaucracy," Sangsten remarked, dryly. "I thought it was slow and easily bought."

"Actually, the explosive charge in the tracking device will activate and we'll be blown sky high, taking the ship, the scientists, the crew and the opposition along with us," Helgusin replied, ignoring the shocked reactions of the pilot and the first mate. "Which means..."

"You're bluffing, right?" Sangsten asked, seeing Helzi almost at the point of a nervous breakdown at the revelation.

"They don't know that," Helgusin said, tapping his large front teeth with one of his paws. "It's all in the delivery."

"Wonder how the scientists are getting on," Helzi interrupted, changing the subject. Both Roselli and Groern had left several hours earlier, along with a well paid local tour guide to take them to where they needed to go. "You think we'll here from them again?"

"They did take two Cosmo Force cadets with them as bodyguards," Sangsten pointed out. "A pair of the most highly trained enforcement agents in the galaxy."

"It's true," Helgusin added. "I used to be a part of them. The training is intense, but there's no supply of labour to join up, beings from all races and creeds. It's estimated that there are currently over two million throughout the galaxy, thirty thousand on the Stronghold alone."

"No greater sign of authority, huh?" Helzi said. "You've got to give the Council credit for being able to maintain such a force. Virtually nobody else in the galaxy could do it."

"Which is why they're the dominant force," Sangesten pointed out. "It's not for nothing."

* * *

"Cadet Djurgen?" Groern asked, leaning over into the front seat of the small speeder that they had chartered to be able to get out into the desert. Below them, the dark red sands of Lucofa were being kicked up by the thrusters, scattering against the windshield. "Have you ever visited Lucofa before?"

"Never," Djurgen answered. He was a humanoid creature covered in bright green fur, a spiked yellow ruff around his neck above his clothes, and a Jolteon face. "But, Cadet Gothe has, I believe."

"When I was younger," Gothe admitted. He was a brown Garchomp like creature with blue Gyarados scales across his legs, arms and back. "I spent a year on this planet as part of my training."

"What did you think of it?" Roselli wondered. "Is all of it as depressing as this, or...?"

"Just most of it," Gothe replied, his voice not showing any emotion. "There's one place about ten miles back the way we came which is okay."

"You're talking about the space port, aren't you?" Groern asked, rolling his eyes.

"But, of course," Gothe said, darkly. "This place is... Put it this way, if they had a huge cannon that could wipe out a planet, this would be the first place on the demolition list."

"If that was the case, we wouldn't be able to get our job done," Roselli pointed out. "Speaking of which, what are we looking for again?"

"That!" Groern exclaimed, gesturing out over the horizon. Far ahead of them, towering up above the dark red sands, they could finally see it, observe the very thing that they had come to find. "Either that or there's another monolith out there that we don't know about."

"Our orbital scan showed this to be the only such structure on the planet's surface," Djurgen said, directing the vehicle over towards the structure in the distance. "At least, the only one that matches the para-metres of our search."

"Good enough for me," Roselli replied. "Pity the tour guide decided it was too dangerous to come on out here."

* * *

"Clear!" Gothe shouted, lowering his assault rifle as he came out of the monolith. "It's clear, there's no clear and present danger."

"Okay, I'll bring them in," Djurgen replied, stood with the scientists a few feet away from the steps leading up to the entrance. "Keep it secure for us."

"Affirmative," the other cadet answered, looking back at the dark entrance of the structure. "Not a whole lot to keep it secure from. This place looks like it hasn't been touched for years. Decades even. I might even go further."

"Don't, we get the idea," Roselli muttered, close enough now to make the response. Their progress had been faster than Gothe had expected, the scientists more in shape than he would have expected.

"Nice of you to join us," Gothe remarked, dryly. "What kept you so long?"

"Well, there's just so many exciting sights here," Djurgen commented, sarcastically. "What about that red sand. Don't see that often."

"Never mind the sand," Groern said, looking at the entrance to the monolith. "What about the temple. That's the main reason we're here."

"Then, let's get it checked out and leave," Gothe remarked, shrugging. "This place is disturbing me. After you!"

Sweeping out a hand, he made a sarcastic gesture to direct the scientists into the chamber, before following Djurgen inside.

* * *

"Excellent!" Roselli exclaimed, moving to the middle of the room, immediately moving his hands across the stone structure that they had immediately seen upon walking in. "This has to be what we came to find."

"You know what it is?" Djurgen wondered, trying to get a better look in the darkness. "Because, it's not that clear."

"Any chance of some light?" Groern asked, bringing up a portable lighting device up to try and get a better view of the structure. "Don't you have anything that can...?"

"Think we should burst out the flash rounds?" Gothe asked, glancing over to his fellow cadet. "Give them some more light to work with?"

"Seems like a plan," Djurgen replied, hitting a button on the side of his weapon. Across from him, Gothe did the same, the two of them immediately raising the assault rifles up to fire at the ceiling. Their rounds hit the ceiling of the temple-like monolith, immediately illuminating the area below to make the area more visible.

"Aha!" Groern yelled, almost ecstatic as he got the full view of the thing that he and Roselli were examining. "You beauty! This is what we came out here to find."

Lowering their weapons, both Djurgen and Gothe finally saw it, the sight surprising both of them. As they looked across to it, the two of them very quickly realised the true nature of what it was.

"It's... It's a sarcophagus!" Gothe exclaimed, still a little surprised. "What's it doing here?"

"I imagine someone brought it here long ago," Roselli said, not really paying attention to him as he carried on examining the stone box. "You know what that design on the front is?"

The question was directed at Groern, the other scientist examining the front of the sarcophagus, his eyes flickering across the carved etches upon the lid.

"If you want my opinion, it looks Anubian," Groern mused. "But, just because that's the design doesn't mean that whatever might be in there is Anubian. Just that they built it up to contain whatever it is."

"What do you mean, whatever it is?" Gothe wondered, taking a step back to get a better look at the scene in front of him. "Is there any chance that it's just a long dead Anubian?"

"There's always that chance," Roselli said, reaching into his bag to pull out a laser cutter. "And, there's only one way to truly be sure."

"Hacking it open?" Djurgen asked, seeing the scientist already moving to start the lengthy process, his laser cutter starting to heat up. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"What's the worst that can happen?" Groern asked, rolling his eyes. "This thing has been here for at least two centuries. I'm not a Psorian, but that seems like it's long enough for anything to expire."

"Besides," Gothe pointed out, patting his assault rifle as he spoke. "Whatever it is, we can take it on. Open it up!"

* * *

"Should have brought a bigger cutter," Groern grumbled, watching Roselli finally finish the act of opening up the sarcophagus, it having taken at least half an hour. None of them had any method of gaining an actual estimate of how long it had taken, but they were all bored, with the exception of Roselli who had given off the impression that he was enjoying the act of cutting into the ancient object. "Maybe a class three version."

"A class three cutter would be too big to carry," Roselli pointed out, already switching the item off. "This is about as big as we could manage easily."

"Could have rented a hover trailer and dragged it," Groern whined, before shaking his head at the scars that now marked the sarcophagus. "Would it really have..."

"It's done now!" Djurgen interrupted, ending the argument. "No point complaining. Just get it open and see what's in there."

Listening to his orders, the two scientists immediately went to try and pull it open, grunting with the effort that they were exerting to try and move the heavy object.

"Come on, put your back into it," Gothe muttered, watching them struggle. Against his better judgement, Djurgen went to help them out, the three of them managing to move the stone cover away from the rest of the structure.

As they did so, Gothe noticed something out of the ordinary, something that made him tighten the grip on his assault rifle. A sight that made his scales prickle, a sight that filled him with trepidation.

Thick black smoke was starting to billow out from the cracks made by the laser cutter, the murky stuff starting to fill the chamber.

"What is it?" Djurgen asked, taking a step back away from it, suddenly sounding worried. "This stuff... It's not natural."

Even as he spoke, the smoke began to take shape, forming away into humanoid shapes, shapes the same colour as the smoke that had created them. They seemed to lack any features, other than huge claws and teeth, their edges distorted.

"Oh, _Frinkrors_!" Rosellie exclaimed, bringing his hands up in surrender. "Don't kill us!"

If anything, the plea seemed to aggravate the creatures, a series of shrill shrieks whistling out through the damp air in the temple. Deciding that they were unwilling to risk their health, Gothe and Djurgen brought their weapons up and began to fire.

As the sound of laser fire began to fill the small space, it was soon followed by screams...

* * *

One Year Later...

* * *

"Yico?"

Raising an eyebrow in response to the question, the dark skinned woman looked across at the Poké Alien in front of her, a morbidly obese Wailinki, the blue rubbery skin underneath the orange jumpsuit heavily covered in sweat. Whatever had gone on to produce this appalling blend of humanoid and Wailord, she didn't want to know.

"Yico?" the Walinki repeated, rubbing at his domed head, almost daring the woman to come to back with a response.

"Cut the crap," the woman said, reaching down to pick up her briefcase. "That's not a real language, you're an idiot for trying to make me look a fool."

"Ah, you're no fool, my dear," the Walinki smiled, reaching out to pat her on the arm. He would have, had she not moved away, giving him a cold smile in retaliation. "So, are you wanting to make this deal?"

"That's the reason that I'm here," she retorted. "It's not for the charming social banter."

Ignoring her, he reached down to a briefcase next to him, something that she hadn't seen against the colours of his jumpsuit. Quickly going through the motions, he opened up the reinforced case and brought out what it was that he was trying to sell to her, a small orb shimmering with several different colours. Red, black, blue, green, yellow, all wavering through the small structure of the item.

"This is what you're trying to peddle?" the woman asked. "Go on, enlighten me. Prove you know what you're talking about, what is it?"  
"This is the heart of a meteorite that hit a rainbow and then crashed into the second moon of Renos," the Walinki replied. "If used in the right way, you could use the components of it to build a weapon capable of mass destruction, the power is such."

"So, you're selling components that could be used to make an illegal weapon?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Most interesting."

That was when the door to the room was kicked open and four people charged in, each aiming a blaster at the Walinki. They were all wearing white uniforms, each arm of the uniform having silver stripes across the upper parts. They also consisted of black belts and boots, while having an empty holster for a blaster and a baton on each thigh. To complete the attire, everyone wore a single black glove on one of their hands with a silver rectangle on the roof of the hand.

"What the...?" the Walinki exclaimed, looking around at the woman who he had been trying to deal with in the last few minutes. "What's going on?"

"You're under arrest," she said. "For the theft of natural resources from Renos, the attempt to illegally sell said resources..."

"Who are you?" he demanded. "You're not Goldara Tayne."

"Well, you're right there," she said, smirking at him. "Congratulations, if you'd been that perceptive earlier..."

That was when she began to change, her form altering into something similar but also different. Where the dark skinned woman had stood, there was now a different person there, a woman with her hair still the same flowing brown colour, still wearing the expensive suit she had worn before. Her skin had a pink tinge to it, while also appearing to be slightly gelatinous in nature.

"Nice," one of the uniformed cadets remarked. "I'm curious. Does everything change when you transform, or..."

"What do you think?"

The sarcastic response came from another one of the white suited cadets, the one who had knocked the Walinki out with a baton. He had a medium build, with green eyes and reddish-black coloured hair.

"It's not exactly transforming if something remains the same, huh?" the woman with the pink tinged skin commented. "Otherwise, it'd be a pointless ability."

"I suppose so," the cadet said, quickly trying to withdraw what he had said. "Sorry, Cadet Camerons."

"Don't you have to be downstairs checking that people aren't getting too close to the barriers?" Cadet Camerons asked, shooting him a sarcastic smirk. "Huh?"

He said nothing, instead heading for the exit, leaving the cadet with the reddish-black hair grinning at the admonishment, at least until he had left.

"Bit harsh on him, weren't you, Diana?" he asked.

"Probably," she conceded. "Then again, Nick, it was a dumb question."

Rolling his eyes, Nick reached down to pull up the Walinki, determined to escort him out of the building as fast as possible.

"On the charges of smuggling illegal weapons, resisting arrest and assaulting a cadet of Cosmo Force," he said, half dragging the Walinki towards the door as he spoke. "You're under..."

Before he could finish, the Walinki swung out his arms, the tremendous strength too much for Nick to hold. As his hands slipped off the wet rubbery skin, the Walinki sent Nick crashing to the ground, instantly making a break for the door.

No sooner had he reached it did it slam open and hit him in the face, insult added to injury by a kick hitting him in the same wounded area of the face, the blows staggering him enough to send him to the ground.

"Damn, how many of you are there," he muttered, punch drunk by the blows before collapsing, his huge weight causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

"Might want to add attempting to assault a cadet and resisting arrest to that list," the feminine voice said, coming from the person who had stopped him from escaping. In she walked, a figure who resembled a bipedal Mightyena, wearing the same white uniform as the rest of them. She had purple Arbok scales below her jaw and her back, as well as shoulder length gold coloured hair.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you," Nick commented, narrowing his eyes at her. "Didn't you, Cadet Yushaa!"

"Who wouldn't?" she replied, rhetorically. "Slam a door into a fat piece of _Borack_ like that and then hit him a bunch of times. All within the law at the same time, which is a bonus."

"Is someone going to CED him?" Diana asked, looking down at where the Walinki had fallen and making a face. "I need to go and shower the smell of him away from me. Always be suspicious of people who sweat that much."

"Sometimes, I envy you," Cadet Yushaa said, sarcastically. "Having that view of the world, dividing people up between those that sweat heavily and those that don't."

"Which are you?" Nick piped up, grinning at her, a comment that she didn't take that well.

"Why do you want to know that, you freak?"

* * *

"Excuse me, sir!"

Looking around, the suited Grobalski gave the teenager a dark look, annoyed at being interrupted before seeing that he was holding a leather wallet in his hand. Apparently, his own.

"You dropped this," the youth said, grinning at him. He had black hair with a red coloured fringe, and his skin was tanned. He was wearing a red shirt and a pair of jeans, along with some white sneakers and a pair of red and black gloves. "Thought I'd give you it back."

"Didn't you push past me a moment ago," the Grobalski asked, taking back his wallet. As a side note, he opened it up to glance through it...

... Only to see a gold coloured shield within it, and the documents he had been hiding there gone.

"Terril Birtel, you're under arrest," the youth said, holding up the secret document that the Grobalski had been carrying in his wallet. "For the embezzlement of funds, the attempted subversion of power on your home planet of Grancaw, and for attempting to bribe a cadet of Cosmo Force."

With that, he tossed a wad of credit bills that had also been in the wallet at Birtel, the Grobalski giving him a filthy look.

"That's out of order," he said, darkly. "You're a..."

"How hard do you want to make it?" the Cadet asked. "Because, you can make it easy for me and surrender, or..."

Completely ignoring him, Birtel turned to run, the heavy sound of his feet booming away across the floor sounding out around the area.

"Or, you can run," the Cadet finished, already starting to chase after him. "Son of a Hrake."

* * *

"Hey, Harry, you got anything on right now?"

Looking up from the paperwork he had been focused on, Harrolvar Kingstro saw the smiling face of one of the cadets looking down at him, hoping for something to be thrown her way. She was wearing the standard issue Cosmo Force cadet uniform, while she also had long silver hair, so long that it covered her left eye. He could see that her right eye was an onyx black colour.

"Garcia, right?" he asked, looking down to the pile of papers to his right. "Seven Garcia?"

"Sandy Garcia," she corrected. "That's... That's a nickname."

"How'd you get it?" he wondered, raising an eyebrow. "If I may ask."

"It's a kinda private story," she admitted. "If you really want to know, it's in my file."

"I look like I've got the time to go around checking personal files?" Kingstro asked, grumpily. "More to the point, I look like I've got the time to go around looking for your personal file?"

"Anything out there that needs attending to?" she asked, ignoring his question. "I just came on duty..."

"You were meant to be here twenty minutes ago!" he grunted, still not giving her an answer. "Twenty minutes ago, we would have something for you. There was a sting operation on a Walinki trying to illegally sell some natural resources from Renos, and... Well, Redwood called in and said that he was going to try and bring someone in who the Grancaw authorities asked us to bring in if we encountered him."

"He need any help?" Sandy asked, hopefully. "He can lose the plot sometimes."

"Haven't heard from him since, he didn't give a location," Kingstro answered. "So, you might have to wait around for something to happen. Shouldn't take too long, it's the Stronghold. Somewhere, someone's always going to try and get up to mischief."

"Yeah, that's the case," Sandy replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, if anything comes up, I'll be around."

"Hey, you've got to see this!" someone, a cadet that she had never spoken to but seen around, yelled, suddenly bursting into the room. "This is crazy! The Pastoria is back!"

"What?" Sandy asked, surprised. "Are you sure?"

"A ship utilising its unique energy signatures just entered Stronghold space, provided to the flight directors working codes, but it sounds like something is off."

"A ship that goes missing for a year suddenly reappears to try and enter the Stronghold?" Kingstro asked, surprised. "I think this qualifies as suspicious. Looks like you've got something to do after all, Cadet Garcia. Check it out. They give them landing permission?"  
His question was directed at the cadet who had come into the room to warn them, the reply coming quickly.

"I asked them to stall for a few minutes, but they should be starting the landing procedure," the cadet answered. "What's the plan? Standard quarantine in these circumstances? Take them in and check that they aren't harbouring anything nasty?"

"Why are you still here if you know what to do?" Kingstro asked, grumpily. "Get out there and..."

He didn't have to finish his sentence, Garcia and Risar were already gone.

* * *

Ahead of him, Birtel had broke out of the crowded district and was making for the walkway that lead to another area of the Stronghold. Still annoyed, he hurdled over a bench to try and cut some of the distance between him and the Grobalski. Normally, he would have been able to catch him by now, but the crowds had really prevented him from doing his job.

Now, that was going to change. Up ahead, Birtel had gone through the gate, was already making to try and get through the exit door before it closed. The anger touching his subconscious, he felt his hair burst into flames as he slipped a CED glove onto his hand, the glove he had previously worn being discarded.

"Last chance to stop!" he shouted, bringing his hand up. "Or, else!"

Predictably, Birtel ignored him, frantically pressing the button for the door to close. His patience finally snapped, Redwood unleashed the stored burst of energy within the CED glove and fired, a white orb streaking through the air from his palm. Slowing to a stop, he found himself watching as it homed in on Birtel, before striking him in the chest. The Grobalski let out a howl of pain, before trying to make an escape back towards the gate. It didn't work, the white orb opened up, scratching out a tear in reality which sucked the Poké Alien back into it. Within the space of a second, he had vanished along with the portal, leaving just a white metal card on the floor between the gate and the exit.

"Told you not to run," Redwood muttered, already at the gate. Jumping over the barrier, he went over to retrieve the item left behind by the use of the Cosmic Entrapment Device. "We'll ship you back to Granclaw, they'll decide what they want to do with you. Either way, you're not going to see the light of day for quite a while."

Pocketing the item, he retrieved his badge and the evidence, before turning to leave.

* * *

"Hey, Risar."

Glancing around at her, he gave the impression that he wondered what it was that she wanted from him. He was a green coloured Vibrava-like alien with some brown fur on his shoulders, also wearing the white uniform of a Cosmo Force cadet.

"Yes?" he finally replied, apparently at unease. "What's up?"

"Good job getting me out of some waiting around," she grinned. "Thought I'd be hanging around for a while."

"Good thing I was at flight control," he replied. "Otherwise, you could still be."

"Why were you at flight control, Risar?" she asked, interested. "Because, it seems a strange place to be. Were you assigned there?"

"That's right," he answered. "Spend a fortnight there, just in case someone tries to hijack the place. Thought that I should let people know that the Pastoria had returned."

"You think that it was hijacked and someone's trying to gain access to the Stronghold?" Sandy wondered. "That'd make things... Interesting. Where they landing?"

"Docking Bay 94," Risar answered. "Guess we better hurry before they leave."

* * *

The exchange had happened quite amicably, the returning crew of the RSS Pastoria had willingly gone into quarantine and were currently in the interrogation room.

"Currently in the room are interviewer Cadets Sandy Garcia and Risar Jonarne," Sandy said, looking at the piece of recording agreement. "Being interviewed are the crew of the RSS Pastoria, Captain Rellio Helgusin, First Mate Meekra Sangsten, Pilot Irain Helzi and Council Scientist Bandro Roselli..."

* * *

"Is it true that the Pastoria returned?"

Rather than answer him, Kingstro took the metal card from Redwood and dropped it in a black evidence bag, that taking his full attention.

"Hey, Harry!"

"What is it, Max?" Kingstro asked, eventually bringing himself to answer. "Why you so interested in the Pastoria?"

"One of my friends was on it when it shipped out," Max replied. "I was wondering if he had been able to make it back."

"Who was it?"

"Djurgen," he answered. "He... Well, he helped me to get where I am today. He was the one who gave me the option of going to the academy."

"Cadets Garcia and Jonarne are currently interviewing those that were aboard when it returned," Kingstro answered. "Other than that, I can't say anything. They're across in the Dah Building, room seven. Maybe when you're done filling out your report, they might still be there."

"My report?"

"On the Birtel incident, including a full explanation as to why you used your CED where there was the chance of danger to civilians."

* * *

"Man, there's some stuff here," Nick commented, walking out into the Docking Bay where the Pastoria had landed. Already, the contents of the ship were starting to be removed, examined and searched. Reaching down, he picked up a large disc-like item with some strange looking writing on the surface. "What's this?"

"Looks like an MP99," someone else offered. "Must be old, they stopped making them years ago."

"Hmm, I see," he replied, glancing over to some of the other stuff. "All this they found on Lucofa?"

"Unless they stopped at the intergalactic trash collection on the way through," another one of the searching custom officers remarked, unhelpfully. "That might explain where they've been all this time."

"Anything of use?" Nick wondered. "Commandant Kingstro asked me to come down and see if there was anything we could fling at the crew to get some sort of reaction while they're being interrogated."

"Well, there was this," the first custom officer replied, handing over a grey bag with two straps at the top. "It's pretty heavy, and we can't get into it. Maybe see if one of them can open it, it needs some sort of biological signature."

"Right, I see," Nick answered. "I'll go and get right on it then."

* * *

"Entering the room is Cadet Nick Miele," Risar said, as Nick came into the room, the bag in his hand. "With a very fetching look, managing to pull off an accessory in ways that few can manage."

"Go and vibrate yourself," Nick replied, trying to sound as polite as possible considering he was being recorded. "Hey, guys."

When none of the crew replied to his question, he dropped the bag on the table and looked across at them with interest.

"Anyone want to inform me what this is?" he asked, folding his arms. "Because, it was found on the Pastoria."

"Along with a lot of other meaningless drabble, I imagine," Captain Helgusin commented. "Why this, out of everything on board?"

"Because, it's sealed with a biological lock," Nick replied, quickly. "And the psychics tell us that it has the potential to be dangerous."

Both Sangsten and Helgusin gave the impression that they would like to refute his suggestion of psychics being involved. They probably would have said something, had Roselli let out a scream and jumped to his feet in terror. Snatching out at the bag, he grabbed at it before making a leap at the window to the other side of the room. Before any of the cadets could stop him, he had thrown himself through it and out of the building.

"Well done, idiot!" Risar growled, moving over to the window to try and check on Roselli. Since they were only on the first floor of the building, he didn't expect for the scientist to be too badly hurt. "That was... Woah!"

Not only was Roselli apparently unhurt, the scientist was already running away from the building, darting across the street into the main part of the district.

"What's happening?" Sandy wondered, about to move over and join him at the window, had he not stopped her by gesturing for her not to come any closer.

"Get after him!"

* * *

"Precious, precious thing!" Roselli whispered, reaching down to the bag and opening it up, the item reacting to his biological signature and revealing to him what was inside. "Don't worry..."

He paused, realising that he had entered one of the shopping districts, which being the evening was relatively full. This wasn't what he needed, he thought, looking around for a suitable area to let what he had go off. He needed somewhere where he wasn't going to be interrupted, somewhere...

Like there!  
... He noticed the statue ahead of him, a monument of some sort, and began to run towards it, laughing manically.

"This is it!" he roared, letting out the elation as he ran. "This is the moment that you all get blown away!"

"Holy mother of Xanthel!" a Collusc shouted, taking several steps back away from the scene. "He's got some sort of bomb!"

Even as the shout rang out, panic was already spilling out, the rampaging scientist managed to hurdle the barrier, past the idle Cosmo Force cadets and slammed his bag down in front of the huge statue of Romenetra the Sixth, a Mewtwo-like alien who had been part of the group who had discovered the Stronghold. Still surprised by his sudden appearance on the scene, the cadets were now moving to engage him, ready to take him into custody. Before they could reach him, he turned, a fully automatic Blaster Pistol in hand. They couldn't even react before the barrage of laser fire downed them, the shots ripping through their armour and defences before taking them to the ground. Still jittery, Roselli went back to his bag, pulling it apart to reveal a circular grey metallic device, a key pad of numbers in the middle. Already keying in a combination, Roselli felt it whir into life below his fingertips, that all the confirmation that he needed to step back, counting down from three, two, one...

As the device exploded, the world seemed to end. The white marble floor cracked open like a nut, huge streams of black energy began to billow out from it, a crack in reality beyond it spewing out the shadow coloured matter. Within seconds, the falling drops of energy began to reform, mutating into vicious featureless clawed beings the same colour as the matter that formed them.

* * *

All around them, it was happening. The black creatures, shaped so much like humans were running amok around the Stronghold, attacking anything that moved, destroying anything that didn't. Two Choklian security guards stood at the entrance to a bazaar turned to see what the commotion was, only to be ripped apart by the rampaging Oblivings, the muscle for hire ineffective at defending themselves against this strange new threat.

Some tried to fight back. An elderly Psorian dropped his spoon shaped walking stick and hurled a blast of psychic energy into the crowd, his courageous act intended to force them back towards where they had come. Instead, only a few were dispelled by the blast, the rest going for the Alakazam inspired alien. No sooner had he made his stand, he was downed, his body vanishing beneath the writing black masses of screeching.

More were soon attacked, the various aliens either running or fighting as best they could, neither option seeming to make much of a difference. The relentless forces kept on coming, more Oblivings appearing through the tear in reality that had been formed by the distressed scientist and his makeshift bomb.

Not hesitating to cause more chaos, some of the Oblivings had turned their attention to the statue of Romenetra, the slight shadowy creatures already climbing up the body to get to the head of the bronze structure...

... Only for several barrages of laser fire to erupt out, striking them down. As a new battalion of Cosmo Force Cadets, at least fifty of them in the group, raced onto the scene, the Oblivings quickly realised a new challenge was upon them, the black spectral creatures already rushing to engage the new threat to the success of their attack...

* * *

To Be Continued...

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**I'm back!**

**This whole brand new world is here, hope that you liked it and liked it lots.**

**Nice to see you all again.**

**Hope that this was suitably enjoyable and strangely mysterious. Things will all get revealed more clearly in time.**

**The next one is the second part of the opener. Today: Part Two. Preview below. At which point, the new credits will be revealed...**

**So, hope that you enjoyed reading this, seeing the new characters and all that.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two, Today: Part Two, preview.**

**Max: Where did these things come from?**

**Sandy: Who knows.**

**Lily: For that matter, who cares.**

**Nick: This is bad.**

**Diana: We need help.**

**?: Use these.**

**?: For the first time in centuries, Poké Rangers have returned to the galaxy.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	2. Today: Part Two

Chapter Two. Today: Part Two.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_It is the year 5091. Over a year ago, the RSS Pastoria, a spaceship carrying two scientists from the council of Gak'rah landed on the planet Lucofa with the intent on studying something. As they went about their mission, they were attacked by something unknown. A year later, on a normal day, five cadets in the elite Cosmo Force are having a relatively normal day when the ship returns with most of the crew remaining. However, one of the scientists went out of his mind and used a device on the Stronghold that summoned a hoard of Oblivings, vicious creatures that began to attack..._

_

* * *

_

Glancing down to the console in front of him, Max finished typing, wondering if his report was detailed enough. This was one aspect of the job that he didn't like, the part where every single action had to be heavily justified. It was the one most cadets hated, but also the one part that was singularly the most important. As long as every action was justified with good reason, as long as he had covered all his bases, Cosmo Force would back him to the absolute hilt. The one sticking point, the one thing that might cause some trouble was the use of his CED in an area that had contained a sparse civillian population. He hadn't known if there were any in close proximity to Birtel when he had used the device, the CED was a dangerous weapon if it wasn't used correctly. When used, it sent everyone that was sucked into it to a strange place known as the Prison Dimension. While those that were trapped in it could be recovered, it was never a good thing to admit that you had unintentionally taken in someone who had nothing to do with the crime. Although serious sanctions were never taken, it was often seen as a sign of derision by those who hadn't done it. About the worst punishment ever given had been three weeks in a desk job, but the humiliation lasted longer. A lot longer.

Letting out a small groan, he dropped back in his chair and threw a look at the ceiling, wondering if there was anything else he could be doing at this moment in time that could appeal to him less.

That was when he heard the sound of explosions outside, the sounds making him leap up out of his chair in surprise.

"What was that?" he wondered, grabbing up the jacket of his uniform and his CED before making a move towards the door, determined to find out what it was.

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

In the middle of the crowd of cadets that had come out to attack the first wave of Oblivings, Lily Yushaa was quietly confident as she gripped her baton and waited for either them to come to her, or she got the order to go to them. Either way, she hoped that it came soon, she wasn't going to be able to contain herself for much longer...

Then it came, the sound of the senior cadet giving the order to charge and that was it. All higher thought was gone from her mind as she began to charge towards the pack of Oblivings, a feral howl emerging from her jaws.

* * *

"How far do you think Roselli could have got?" Sandy asked, as she, Nick and Risar made their way out of the Cosmo Force building and out onto the streets. "Because..."

"Depends how fast he was running and in what direction," Risar answered, glancing around. "If he went..."

"Run for your lives!" a Gela screamed, her back in flames as she ran past them. "They're coming this way!"

Without saying anything, the three cadets looked at each other, before shrugging. Then, as one, they turned and began to run in the direction the Tangela-like Poké Alien had come from.

"Anyone else wondering what's waiting for us?" Nick asked, just a second before they saw the flames rising up in the distance. "Oh."

"What do you mean, oh?" Risar demanded angrily. Already, he was starting to move away towards the scenes of public disturbance. "Let's get over there and onto it. If the situation is as bad as it looks, then we need to get there and help to quell it."

* * *

Letting out a frenzied snarl, Lily swept up her baton and knocked one of the closest Oblivings away, sending it to the ground where it dispersed away into nothing, almost as if it hadn't existed prior to her attack.

That didn't concern her, what did have her full attention was the Obliving behind her. Too far for the baton to reach, too close for the blaster...

... Snapping her head around, her jaws opening up, she spat at the thing, the purple saliva sailing through the air before hitting the thing in the chest. For a moment, it did nothing, the Obliving stood stock still as Lily tried to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth.

Then, the fast acting poison took effect, melting through the shadow being and forced it to disperse away into a sticky pile of black sludge.

Taking only a second to savour her victory, she soon began to attack again, realising that there were still many to defeat, the battle not even close to being over.

* * *

In her small apartment above one of the buildings in the shopping district, Diana had just gotten out of the shower and was half dressed in her white uniform trousers and a yellow tank top while drinking some of the Iceberry Juice that her roommate had brought back from her trip to the planet Yelchik. Across from her, the clothes that had made part of her disguise from earlier were folded up, ready to be returned to the Cosmo Force building storage room.

That was when she heard some of the screams from outside her window, followed by a fiery explosion that almost seemed to shake the building with its violent force.

"What the...?" she muttered, moving over to the window to see what was going on, to try and work out what had caused the outburst of noise. What she saw was enough to make her jump, the battle below almost making her drop her drink. "Uh oh."

Putting the container down, she stopped only to pull on her boots, jacket and CED, before leaving her room, realising that she was needed below.

"Besides," she muttered, dryly. "If the entire area gets torched around it, the value of my apartment goes down."

* * *

"What are these things?" Nick yelled, kicking one of the Oblivings back away from him, seeing it disperse as it hit the ground. "They're everywhere."

They weren't too hard to defeat, Sandy thought to herself, as she threw out an arm, grabbed one of the Oblivings by the throat and hurled it twenty feet up into the air, seeing it shatter against one of the buildings near to them. But, the problem is, that...

Already, another thirty were swarming towards the three cadets, all shrieking and howling in their approach.

... There were so many of them.

"You're stronger than I thought," Risar commented, extending out his claws to slash at the Oblivings, before looking at her. "Really, you are."

"I work out a lot," she shrugged, turning to kick one away from her. "But, it's not really important now, is it?"

Ignoring the two of them, Nick swept out an arm and slashed it across the chest of one of the Oblivings close to him, cutting away through the black matter to dispel it into nothing.

"Anything you can do, Risar," he muttered, moving away into the crowd. Around them, minor pockets of battle were still taking place and despite the best attempts by the collection of cadets to counter them, the Oblivings were still coming through.

This was seemingly something that some of the other cadets had noticed at this point, yet none of them were willing to let their heads drop.

* * *

"What's going on?"

Running onto the scene, Max had immediately found Cadet Camerons making her way out towards the battlefield and had halted her.

"No idea," she replied, shrugging. "If I knew, I'd probably be slightly more worried."

"That makes no sense," he replied, pulling out his Cosmo Blaster. "But, it's not the important thing right now. Want to bust some heads?"

"That's not proper procedure..."

"Does this look like a time for proper procedure?" Max asked. "As much as I love it, sometimes you've just got to go with the flow and brutalise some invaders. They come in here and..."

He was quickly cut off by an Obliving trying to decapitate him, resulting him having to duck to evade it. It was the last act that the being ever did, before Max unleashed a fireball from his hand and vaporised it completely.

"Back to my point, proper procedure goes out of the window!"

* * *

As she hit one of the Oblivings close to her six times in quick succession, Lily felt the claws of another one of the creatures snake out and slash her across the shoulder. Although, the wound wasn't that deep, she still felt a cold rush pass through her system, almost as if it was trying to force its way into her cuts. Growling, she turned and swatted it away with a hand, bringing up her Cosmo Blaster...

... Only for another to come in and try to take her to the ground, the frenzied creatures determined to swarm all over her as she hit the deck. That was when she heard the sound of several shots ring out, the cadet rolling over onto her side to see Nick offering her a hand up.

"Admit it," he smirked. "You're glad to see me right now, aren't you?"

"First time for everything," she said, picking her own Cosmo Baton back up and grabbing Nick's from where he had let it hang on his belt. Turning, she swung both weapons out and dispelled another two, three, four, five of the Oblivings into nothing. "Thanks for that," she said, handing him back his baton. "You got a plan, or are we making it up as we go along?"

"I think very much the latter," he replied, turning to shoot one of the Oblivings in where its head would have been. "Now, you take the five hundred on the right and..."

Before he could finish, a stream of fire razed through the immediate area, the heat rising up off the attack. Although it seemed to lack direction, it didn't come remotely close to harming any of the cadets, not going near Nick or Lily, nor even to the approaching Sandy and Risar. Despite that, its target appeared to be Oblivings, decimating them completely without remorse.

When it eventually faded away, the smoke vanishing along with the latent heat, the four cadets saw an exhausted looking Max stood leaning on Diana for support.

"They got him bad," Risar observed, moving over to the two newly arrived cadets. "What happened to you, Redwood? Couple of them get to you?"

"Nah," Max gasped, still breathing heavily. "That fire attack... Took a lot out of me."

"What's the plan?" Diana asked, looking around the battlefield. Slowly but surely, the Oblivings were starting to beat back the Cosmo Force cadets, their victory seemingly imminent. "It's not going so well right now..."

"You want a plan?" Max asked, straightening up just enough to be able to run if it was needed. "I suggest tactical retreat for the moment. We go get bigger weapons and then come back."

"What are we going to do, bomb this entire part of the Stronghold and start over?" Nick wondered, looking surprised by the comment. "Because, I think that's illegal."

"Nah, the Cosmo Force weapons lab," Sandy answered, looking around to try and spot the entrance to the building she had just named. "There's a back door around here somewhere, if we can get down there, it'll seal and we can catch a break."

"Great, let's go!" Lily said, tapping her Cosmo Baton against her thigh, before starting to rush off towards the direction Sandy had gestured to. "I'll take point!"

"She's hounding for a pounding," Nick commented, rolling his eyes. "And not in a good way..."

* * *

"Well, it's locked," Lily remarked, disdainfully cracking her baton against the heavy metal door. "That was a waste of time..."

"I told you it was locked," Sandy said, quietly.  
"... And now we're about to get cornered," she said, gesturing around to the Oblivings that were starting to move towards the six of them. "Then again, at least they can't sneak up on us now."

"I told you that it was locked," Sandy repeated, glaring at Lily. "But, if you give me a few moments, I can probably get it open."

"You're just full of surprises," Risar commented. "Strong, fast, intelligent, you look great in that uniform and now you turn out to be some sort of amateur burgler."

"Jeez, is this really the time?" Diana asked, her focus momentarily drawn from the Obliving that she had just wiped out with her Cosmo Blaster. "Flirt some other time, not when we're about to get eaten."

"Eaten?" Lily wondered, repeatedly striking one of the creatures with her baton as she spoke. "What do you reckon these things taste like?"

"Why are you even wondering that?" Max asked, before jumping up to evade the attacks of two Oblivings. Below him, the two attacks that had been meant to shred him rebounded onto the Oblivings, the two creatures imploding from the attacks that the other had launched. As he came down, he kicked another in the face, knocking it to the ground. "High metabolism?"

"Probably," Nick snickered, leaping forward to land on his hands. Flipping, he managed to drag another Obliving to the ground with him, before spinning on his back to unleash a flurry of blaster fire into the crowd.

Behind them, Sandy had pulled one of the panels on the automatic doors open and found a miniature keyboard. Her fingers moving across it, she found her mind wandering as she tried to recall the codes. Moving through her memory, she desperately tried to remember if she had ever seen anyone type it in.

"Some time today!" Lily growled, still battling against the hoardes. "That would really be helpful!"

"I'm going as fast as I can," Sandy muttered, tapping away at the controls. She could hear the scenes of battle ahead of her, the sounds telling her that it was slowly getting tighter. "Just..."

Let's see, she thought, still trying to hack the machine. Wonder if I can reset the locking device. Problem with that is that I might unlock it and be unable to lock it again after that. There has to be something here that I'm missing, maybe I can just... Hold on. That might work!

Just as she was about to put her plan into action, she and every other cadet heard Risar let out a scream.

* * *

All eyes fell on the cadet as an Obliving grabbed him by the throat, blood running from several cuts across his body. What happened next was enough to make all of them flinch, as the Obliving dispersed into smoke and began to swarm across Risar's face. Still, he screamed and screamed as the smoke began to crawl into every hole and pore, until it had vanished.

Then he stopped screaming and smiled at all five of them, a cold smile that instantly told them they were in a very bad situation.

"That's better," he growled, looking at them. "Now, who wants to die first? We have you cornered, there's no way out for any of you..."

"Errr... Risar?" Sandy asked, raising her hand. "Just a quick..."

"Looks like she wants to go first," Risar snickered, already making a move towards her. "Which..."

"If you're going to try cornering someone," Sandy said, looking back at the door before smashing her fist against it, the metal objects immediately screeching open. "It's not cornering when there's an exit!"

Not hesitating, the other four cadets immediately jumped up and began to rush through the door. Before Risar or any of the other Oblivings could react, Sandy closed the doors and they were safe.

* * *

"Where did these things come from?" Max gasped, moving to check for himself that the door was locked behind them. "This just isn't right."

"Who knows," Sandy remarked, still clutching at her baton. "It's just..."

"For that matter, who cares," Lily interrupted. "They're tearing the Stronghold apart. Let's get back out there and beat those Frinkrors into the ground!"

"Great plan," Nick said, dryly. "Hasn't it occurred to you that we're outnumbered? Heavily. This is bad."

"We need help," Diana commented. "Let's get down to the labs, see if they've got anything."

"I highly doubt it's going to be that easy," Lily remarked, rolling her eyes. "But, sure, might as well kill some time while we're waiting for them to burst in and try to massacre us."

"Something on your mind, Lil?" Sandy wondered, raising an eyebrow. "You sound possibly terrified."

"I'm not terrified, its just a case of I'd rather be doing something than just sat here waiting," Lily retorted, glancing over to the sealed door. "I hate being sat around, are we either going to..."

She turned back around, seeing that the other cadets were already making their way down the corridor, having left her alone.

"That's just rude!"

* * *

"Here we go," Max said, knocking on the large metal door in front of him. "The Cosmo Force weapons lab. If we're going to get any help, then we're going to get it here."

"Short of calling in reinforcements," Diana commented. "But, there's no point in doing that. By the time enough make it here to make a difference, we'll be overwhelmed for sure."

That was when the door opened up in front of them, revealing the veritable gallery of weapons, gadgets and equipment that the Cosmo Force cadets might ever need. Lined long and high along the walls were laser Assault Rifles, Cosmo Blasters, stun grenades, CED's, Cosmo Batons, all fresh and ready to be used. Away on the multitude of work benches, half finished pieces of equipment were scattered around, a lone Psorian working on building a portable code cracker.

"Errr... Hello?" Nick called, the Psorian looking up at them with a smile. He was a blue furred Kadabra-like Poké Alien and wore a beige lab coat.

"Greetings," he said, getting up. "What can I do for you?"

All five of them could see that his name tag, pinned to the breast of his coat read the name Doctor Katongo, a spoon tucked in his other pocket.

"What can you do for us?" Lily demanded. "The Stronghold is under attack. I think the very least that you could do for us is help us out."

"Excuse me?" Doctor Katongo replied, a little surprised. "The Stronghold is under attack. Really?"

"Turn on a monitor of the district above us," Sandy said, gesturing to one of the monitors across from the Psorian scientist. "See for yourself."

Heeding her words, he did so, taking just a short look at the events taking place above them before letting out a shudder and switching it off.

"Okay, you've got my attention," he replied, bringing a hand up to stroke his chin. "What do you need?"

"Bigger weapons?" Lily asked, hopefully. "Something big and powerful. Maybe a beam sword..."

"Unless you have anything that might be more effective," Max commented, sounding just as hopeful. "Because, there are hundreds of them and only five of us."

"Hmmm," Doctor Katongo mused, still stroking his chin. "Would you say that you needed something to tip the odds in your favour? Drastically?"

"That would be helpful," Diana commented. "You have something like that?"

"Well, it's not completely finished," the Psorian scientist replied, walking over to a small non-descript safe in the corner of the room. "They may work or they may not work, but they should be helpful. Not too long ago, someone at the highest level gave the instruction down that we were to work on something in case of emergency. Something similar to the equipment that was used in riots, but much more useful in all situations. We came up with something..."

Opening up the safe, he took out a briefcase and walked over to the five cadets, placing the metal case on a table and opened it up to reveal the contents to them.

"Use these," the Psorian scientist continued, handing each of them a glove, one not dissimilar to the type that they wore to hold a CED. Each of them was a specific colour, he gave a red one to Max, a blue one to Sandy, a black one to Lily, a green one to Nick and a yellow one to Diana. "Like I said, we've been working on these for very special circumstances... This seems like the right time."

"What are they?" Lily asked, barely managing to fit hers over her right hand, eventually managing to achieve some comfort with the item of clothing.

"We call them the Cosmo Changers," Doctor Katongo answered. "As to what they do, you'll have to wait and find out. But, they're very effective. Just focus heavily, tense the muscles of your hand and incant the word Cosmosis. I promise that you won't be disappointed. I'm almost certain that they'll work."

"If you're wrong about this, and we die, I'm coming back to haunt you," Diana said, slightly unnecessarily. "That's a promise."

"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about," he answered. "All you've got to do is have a little faith in me."

"So says the guy who made the comment that they wouldn't work," Nick remarked, dryly. "Shall we get back up there and see what we can do then?"

* * *

Running out of the very door that they had earlier escaped through, the five of them found the scenes a little worse than when they had left it. Now that they were back on the scene, the Oblivings had already started to swarm out towards them, their presence having been noticed immediately.

"Shall we do this then?" Max asked, looking across the other four cadets. "No time like the present?"

"Actually, that statement's wrong," Nick commented, sarcastically. "It should actually be there's no time like the past. Because then we wouldn't be here."

"Take that as a let's do it," Sandy remarked. "I'm ready."

"Let's see if the old guy had a point," Lily growled, tensing the muscles in not just her hand but in her arm as well.

"I've got a good feeling about this," Diana said, smiling as she brought her hand up. "Anyone else have that?"

"On the count of three..." Max said, looking down at his own morpher. "One..."

"Two."

"Three!"

"Cosmosis!" the five cadets all shouted at the same time, mimicking the actions that Doctor Katongo had described. And, just has he had described, they began to transform...

Max morphed first, transforming into a costume that was a dark red colour. It had a white belt with a blaster and a baton on each thigh. The boots and gloves were white, one of the gloves had a silver rectangle on it. The right side of the chest had a huge number one across it in black with a white outline. There were also white bands across the upper arms of the uniform. The helmet was Infernape based with a rectangular visor and circular mouthpiece.

Sandy went next, morphing into a suit that was a dark blue colour. It had a white belt with a blaster and a baton on each thigh. The boots and gloves were white, one of the gloves had a silver rectangle on it. The right side of the chest had a huge number two across it in black with a white outline. There were also white bands across the upper arms of the uniform. The helmet was Porygon based with a rectangular visor and circular mouthpiece.

Next up was Lily. Her costume was black. It had a white belt with a blaster and a baton on each thigh. The boots and gloves were white, one of the gloves had a silver rectangle on it. The right side of the chest had a huge number three across it in silver with a white outline. There were also white bands across the upper arms of the uniform. The helmet was Mightyena shaped and based with a curved visor and circular mouthpiece.

It was Nick's turn after hers, his ranger suit was a dark green colour. It had a white belt with a blaster and baton on each thigh. The boots and gloves were white, one of the gloves had a silver rectange on it. The right side of the chest had a huge number four across it in black with a white outline. There were also white bands across the upper arms of the uniform. The helmet was Grovyle based with a rectangular visor and circular mouthpiece.

Finally, Diana got her chance to morph, her costume being a dark yellow colour. It had a white belt with a blaster and baton on each thigh. The boots and gloves were white, one of the gloves had a silver rectangle on it. The right side of the chest had a huge number five across it in black with a white outline. There were also white bands across the upper arms of the uniform. The helmet was Ditto based with a rectangular visor and circular mouthpiece.

* * *

"The true power of Cosmo Force," Doctor Katongo gasped, watching the sight on a monitor in front of him. "I've done it!"

Although eating in the labs was normally frowned upon, he pulled up a chair and sat down, removing the sandwich from his bag as he carried on watching the action on the monitor.

* * *

"This is impressive," Max commented, looking himself up and down. "Those lab guys really came through this time."

"What do you mean this time?" Sandy wondered. "Because they've never let us down yet."

"There was that one time..." Nick started to say, before Lily spoke up.

"Guys, not the time," the new black ranger interrupted, taking out her Cosmo Baton. "I really want to go for round two with these things."

"Really, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Diana commented. "Let's try and stop them first, before we get killed."

"Actually, I'm with that plan," Sandy offered. "And, I have an idea on how we can get rid of them, or at least stop more of them from coming through."

"What have you got in mind?" Max asked, looking across at her. All around them, the Oblivings were still hovering, waiting for them to make a move. They seemed to give off the impression that they were a little unsure what sort of threat the new rangers posed.

"We need to get across to that crack where they're coming through and block it somehow," the new blue ranger continued. "Then, we can get rid of the ones that are through and..."  
Pulling out her Cosmo Blaster, she fired twice, dropping two of the Oblivings, an action that immediately brought the rest of them charging towards the rangers.

"... Work out how to close it up at a later date," the blue ranger finished, quickly ducking under an attack before retaliating with a kick. "Come on! Let's get over there now!"

"You heard her," Max commented. "That's the plan, it's workable. Now, let's move out!"

* * *

Rushing across the shopping district turned battlefield, the five of them quickly realised that the power they now held was so much more effective than the way they had been doing it before. Jumping up from a running start, Max air kicked one of the Oblivings to the ground, before landing to sweep the legs from another two out underneath them. Before more could swarm around him, he brought his Cosmo Blaster up and fired several times into the crowd, taking more of them out. Nearby, Sandy jumped into action, punching as many of the Oblivings around her as fast as they could line up. Her attacks calm and considered, each was enough to deal some serious damage to the shadow creations. Finally, she stopped and hit one with a roundhouse kick, hurling it through the air. Meanwhile, Lily had brought out her Cosmo Baton and was calmly moving through the crowds, hitting anything that came near her. If it came on her left side, the baton was thrown out with almost lethal force, while those on her right were given the mercy of a right hook. A slight distance away from her, Nick was watching and couldn't help but marvel slightly, realising that she was almost an expert with the melee weapon. Jerking his attention back to reality, the green ranger ducked an attack and kicked an Obliving several times before finishing it off with his Cosmo Blaster. Finally, Diana flipped back onto her hands and took two of them down with kicks, before springing back to tackle another, punching it several times while she was on top of it. Pulling it up by the throat, she hit it with a spin kick, dispelling it into black smoke. As more closed in on her, she brought up the Cosmo Baton and dropped down into a crouch, spinning around to take as many off their feet as was possible.

"There's the crack!" Lily yelled, smashing another Obliving into smoke with her baton as they continued to move. All five of them could see it, could feel the evil energy radiating from the tear in reality.

"Right, how to close it..." Max muttered, shaking his head as he tried to think.

* * *

"San-dee! San-dee! San-dee!"

Looking around, she saw him. The thing that Risar had become, moving towards her, a Cosmo Baton in hand. Although he looked exactly the same, there was no doubting the black aura of evil intensity that radiated off him as he made such a process of tauntingly calling out her name.

"San-dee..."

That was when she acted, moving over to punch him in the face. Deep down, she knew that Risar was gone and the Obliving was in control of him now. As he took her blow, he began to laugh, before she hit him again. This time, there was no laugh, instead the thing began to glare at her. She tried to kick him, only for him to grab her leg and stop her attack.

"You're not going to get the better of me that easily," he smirked. "I'm several levels better than the rest of me."

That was when she slammed her elbow into the side of his face, putting all her strength behind the attack. As he yelped in pain, she jerked her leg away and took his leg out from underneath him, sending him to the white tiled floor.

"Sorry, Risar," she muttered, already activating her CED. She had seen that the weapon had no effect on Oblivings in their natural form, having noted that earlier in the battle. But since this one had taken control of Risar...

She barely felt the orb of white energy streak out of her hand and crash against Risar, immediately sucking the cadet inside. All of a second passed before he vanished, the metal card clattering to the ground...

Behind her, the other new rangers were still trying to get closer to the rip, determined to try and close it somehow. Turning back, she brought the Cosmo Blaster up and began to shoot into the crowd, careful not to hit any of her allies. Still a few other cadets remained in the fight, on the verge of tiring from their exertions, they were also ones that she had to miss. But, on the whole, anything that moved was a threat.

* * *

Nick reached the crack in reality first, immediately shuddering as he felt the black waves of evil energy come out from the abyss, threatening to try and corrupt him. Brushing it off, he tried to force himself into feeling secure by knowing that it couldn't do the same to him as it had to Risar now that he wore the green coloured costume. Unsure what to do, he took a step closer to the crack, wondering what would happen if he started to shoot into it...

... Only for a tentacle to reach out and grab his leg, yanking him off his feet. Before he could be dragged towards the seemingly bottomless crack, both Max and Lily were there to pull him back while Diana took several potshots at the tentacle, driving it away from the green ranger. That allowed Sandy enough time to catch up with them.

"We're here," Lily groaned, dragging Nick up to his feet. "Now what? Dance around chanting strange words to get rid of it?"

"You can do that if you want," Diana commented, sarcastically, before Diana let out a shout, the yellow ranger having spotted something.

"That!" she yelled, everyone looking over to see a small device leaning against the statue of Romenetra, the same device that Roselli had used to open the tear. If anything else, it seemed to be maintaining it, allowing the Oblivings to come on through.

"If we can get to that, we might be able to shut it off!" Max yelled, struggling to make himself heard above the roar of the abyss. "Sandy, you think you can hack it?"

"It might be a little out of my area of expertise," the blue ranger admitted. "I can try, but messing around with something I have no idea of how it works is supremely bad idea."

"You think blowing it up might do the trick?" Nick asked, shrugging. "Because, if it's generating the tear then..."

"One way to find out," Lily replied, turning to shoot several times at the device with her Cosmo Blaster. None of the laser blasts really did any damage to the thing, the outer casing absorbing the hits with ease, leaving only scorch marks on the grey surface. "Ah, Frinkrors!"

"Jeez, stop saying that," Diana muttered. "It's like hanging around with a Choklian waste shoveller."

"I might have a way to shatter it," Max offered, grinning under his helmet. "Trust me, this might just work. Bide me some time."

With that, he turned and began to run towards the statue and the device, leaving the four of them alone.

"What's he going to do?" Sandy wondered. "He's going to look a moron if the thing turns out to be rigged. If Roselli set a trap, it could expand and suck the entire Stronghold into it."

"Suppose we have to hope and pray that he knows what he's doing," Diana commented, ducking down to flip an Obliving over her shoulder, throwing it into the tear.

"We are so completely dead," Lily deadpanned, kicking another black soldier away from her. "That I know for sure..."

* * *

Finding himself at the base of the statue, on the opposite side to where the device was, Max looked down at the keypad in the side of the heavy white structure, trying to remember what the code was. He had been on guard duty here a couple of times before, and whoever was on guard duty had to know the codes in case of emergency...

Let's see, he thought, tapping the side of the statue to try and get his thoughts going. I remember there was a one... a nine... a six... a four... I'm getting it now. Two zeroes, a seven and another one. Oh yes!

Keying in the code, he felt the statue begin to shudder next to him, the codes removing the anchors holding it to the floor. In case of an emergency, the event of a fire, the zero gravity would be activated and the statues and other land marks would be lifted off the ground to prevent them being damaged. Now that it was loose, all it took was a little force.

Jumping up to his feet, he began to try and push, realising immediately how pointless it could be. The statue of Romenetra almost certainly weighed over ten tonnes, there was no way that he should be able to move it. Yet, the platform was slightly sloped and heavily polished, the surface slippery. With that little bit of fortune in his favour, Max's efforts were just enough to send it sliding away down the upraised platform, the full weight of the base toppling over, right on top of the device. In that single instant, it was crushed completely and rendered inoperable. Almost as soon as it had appeared, the tear vanished from view, leaving just a few hundred solitary Oblivings on their own. Although they were still outnumbered, the remaining cadets, probably about a hundred including the new Poké Rangers, seemed to realise that they weren't going to get any more reinforcements and that seemed to rejuvenate them in their efforts to combat them.

In ten minutes, the battle was over, the only trace that one had been there being the dead and the damaged. None more so than the shattered statue, the tribute to Romenetra only half the height that it had been previously, the upper body having been torn away with the abyss. Already, the local people were starting to come out to cheer the victorious figures, all exhausted by what they had just been through.

With the conflict all but over, the shattered remnants were starting to hit home. Yet, as she joined the other rangers in looking around the battletorn arena, Sandy couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the CED card that she had shut Risar inside. He had been a cadet, she hoped that there was some way to help him in the future. But for now, he wasn't important.

* * *

"That was intense, huh?" Nick said, the five of them sat in one of the rooms back at the Cosmo Force building. "You think that we're going to get to keep these powers, or..."

"Dude, you just know that we're going to have to give them back," Diana commented, looking at her Cosmo Changer. "Shame, I kinda like them too."

"Guys, if we have to give them up, we have to give them up," Sandy interrupted. "Either way, we did a good thing with them today, so we'll always have that memory."

"Besides," Max laughed. "Can you imagine the five of us as a team?"

"Why wouldn't that work?" Diana asked, looking across at him. "Come on, give us a reason."

"This ought to be funny," Lily snickered, leaning back in her chair to watch whatever reply Max gave out.

"Well..." he started to say, before thinking better of it. "Okay, so I can't think of a reason right now. Back to more pressing issues, what do you think happened? Today, I mean."  
"I have an idea," Sandy offered. "Although it wasn't as strong, I think the same thing happened to Roselli as to Risar. He was used as a trojan to get in here and attack. When Nick brought in the device he intended to use to open the rip, he panicked."

"Understandable I suppose," Nick commented. "Good thing that we were able to stop it."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Diana remarked. "It's an amazing thing. Today, the Stronghold is still standing. Or floating, whatever."

That was when the door opened up, another cadet sticking his head around the door to speak to them.

"Hey, guys," he said, a nervous smile on his face. "You've been summoned. There's some people who really want you brought before them."

* * *

"Called before the Council," Diana whispered, looking up at the arena around them, the five rangers stood on a raised podium in the middle of the huge building towards the rear of the Stronghold. "This is... Wow, just wow!"

Although the platform they were stood on was large, it was completely dwarfed by the rest of the room, the space being filled by over a thousand other platforms, each containing ambassadors and senators for every planet that had agreed to join the Stronghold.

"Check out the Dinosians," Nick said, nodding his head over to a platform roughly fifty feet above and to the left of them. "Remember when they tried to ethnically cleanse Earth?"

"I'm pretty sure it didn't happen like that," Sandy pointed out. "Besides, that was a long time ago. I'm sure they all feel pretty bad about it."

"Hear comes the Galactic Executive," Max muttered. "No sarcastic comments, no threats of violence..."

"You assume this is the first time that any of us have met someone of such stature," Lily remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Really, and you have?" Nick asked.

"Maybe I'll tell you that story one day," she said. "Because, it's..."

"Silence for Doctor Krengelore!"

The barked order came from one of the two bodyguards next to the Galactic Executive, a Psorian wearing blue coloured robes. His bodyguards were both stern looking Syodians, both wearing silver battle armour and carrying potent looking laser assault rifles. As the silence faded away, Doctor Krengelore got to his feet and strode to the end of the platform, looking at them from behind half moon glasses. Unlike Doctor Katongo, he was an Alakazam-like Poké Alien and his fur was a red colour, the front of his robes marked with the crest of the Stronghold.

"Masters of the Universe!" he began, raising both hands up for effect. "Today, we encountered a problem, one that may be too much for us to ignore..."

Both Lily and Diana rolled their eyes at that comment, an action that went unnoticed by everyone else in the room.

"These beings, these Oblivings," Doctor Krengelore continued. "They came to destroy us, they hold no disregard for our way of life. They cannot be reasoned with, they appear to be here for one reason and one reason alone. That is to wipe us out and claim everything we hold dear for their own nefarious purposes."

All around the room, sounds of discontent broke out, forcing one of the Syodian bodyguards to call for silence again, something that was quickly heeded.

"Now, whether they are working alone or for some higher power is unknown," Doctor Krengelore remarked. "However, we have to assume that this was not an isolated attack. The scanners upon the Stronghold estimate that enough Oblivings managed to escape the confines of our home and are spreading out across the galaxy. Given the way that they can quickly multiply, I have devised a proposal that will be sure to aid both aspects of the problem. Both to find out what these things are and what their endgame is, and to offer help to those who need it."

"Here we go," Sandy muttered.

"Because of the actions of five brave cadets today, the Stronghold was spared destruction!" Doctor Krengelore exclaimed, a light shining down onto the five cadets in the middle of the room. "My plan is that they are given executive powers. The power to track, contain and defuse this threat, using whatever methods they deem necessary. They will answer to us, and only to us. In desperate times, desperate measures must be taken. These cadets proved today that they have what it takes to save us all, by taking on the power of the Poké Rangers. In the past, such beings have protected their own planets with distinction and dignity. It is time for them to return!"

He paused for a moment, looking down to try and gauge the reaction of the cadets. That was something he wanted to do by sight, his ears were already hearing the sounds of approval from the rest of the room.

As the sounds died down, the ambassador from Rara Von got to her feet and began to address him directly.

"If you believe that is the correct course of action to take," she said, loudly. "Then you have the full support of Rara Von. They took the powers to become Poké Rangers correct? In the past, our planet has seen what such beings are capable of."

Across from her, the senator from Druidia got to his feet. He was a golden skinned Groudon-like Poké Alien, wearing black robes.

"I concur with Ambassador Cheriksan," he said. "One of Druidia's greatest monarchs was such a warrior. We back your plan to the hilt."

Already, the monarch of Syodia was getting to his feet to make a point, a black Deoxys wearing purple and green coloured armour.

"The citizens of Syodia feel the same way as the Druidians!" He roared. "In the past, our own Poké Rangers defended both our own planet, but also several others, including Earth!"

As the sounds of support came in for his plan, Doctor Krengelore saw the Ambassador for the planet Kaku get up to make her point. She was a Kakuna-like Poké Alien, a race that he didn't know that much about, not more than he had to.

"The truth is," she said. "We will support you, having had our own brand of Poké Rangers in the past to great effect. But, why haven't we heard from the senator from the planet Earth? Surely, if anyone in this room is qualified to talk about it..."

"Does the senator from Earth wish to make comment?" Doctor Krengelore asked, glancing over to where he knew the platform holding the representatives of Earth was. Almost begrudgingly, the dark skinned man got to his feet and began to speak.

"As plans go, Galactic Executive," he said, softly. "Your idea is both sound and effective. The real debate is whether or not these brand new Poké Rangers will be able to live up to the high standards of those that have walked previously."

"That's insulting," Nick commented, dryly. "Still, so far so good, by the sound of it."

Still, the debate went on around them. It carried on for ten minutes, twenty, thirty, forty, all points of view being aired. Some carried on in the same view as the early ones, while others were slightly more negative. Just as the senator from the planet Pegasus finished speaking, Doctor Krengelore finally brought the discussion to a halt.

"That's enough for right now," he said, loudly. "Time is of the essence, this debate can be picked up at a later date. But now, it's time to vote. All in favour of taking this course of action, please vote now!"

As he stopped speaking, an immediate and vocal show of support rang out around the room, probably around four fifths of the room in favour of the idea.

"Guess we're working as a team then," Max remarked, shrugging his shoulders. "At least, that's what it sounds like."

Away on the central platform, one of the Syodian bodyguards handed a datapad to Doctor Krengelore, the Psorian immediately glancing down at it with interest.

"So," Doctor Krengelore commented, looking across at the council. "For the first time in decades, Poké Rangers have returned to the galaxy. Of the one thousand four hundred and eighteen members of this council to have voted, one thousand and eleven have voted in favour of the plan."

Finishing speaking, he glanced down to the cadets in the centre of the room, a smile on his face.

"Congratulations, it would appear that you have a new assignment."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Well, they still have sandwiches in the future... And why not.**

**So, the second part of the opener and on the fifth anniversary of the creation of Poké Rangers. Can't say better than that.**

**Obviously it's still early, so still quite a few details are hidden, but there's the bulk of the plot in the end there.**

**Okay, thanks for the reviews, they are all appreciated. A lot.**

**Anyway, the next one is entitled Rogue, and the preview is below.**

**More characters will be introduced next episode, so, until then...**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three, Rogue, preview.**

**Sandy: They're arranging for some transport and a crew for us.**

**Lily: Looks like we're going to be here for another day, maximum.**

**?: Reports of a robbery taking place.**

**Max: I know you.**

**?: This is just the start. Soon, we're going to have all the money in the universe.**

**Nick: Max's gone to try and catch the leader of a criminal gang.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	3. Rogue

Chapter Three. Rogue.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_As the RSS Pastoria returned to the Stronghold after a years absence, one of the scientists went crazy and used a bomb to open up a tear in reality, letting out hundreds of Oblivings to attack. Despite their best efforts, galactic law enforcement Cosmo Force were unable to hold it back, leaving five cadets to take up the power to become Poké Rangers. Using their new powers, they were able to close the tear in reality and save the Stronghold, before the Galactic Council gave them the roles full time to stop the impending threat..._

_

* * *

_

"That went well, don't you think?" Doctor Krengelore asked, looking across at the five cadets in front of him. After the council had been adjourned for the day, he had invited them to come to his office. "Congratulations on your new positions."  
"But, Galactic Executive, sir?" Sandy said, speaking up. "What makes you so confident that we can do this. I'm not saying that we can't, but..."

"The five of you kept your heads in a bad situation," he answered, abruptly. "I've seen the battle footage, you managed to assess the entire problem and work out a method of fixing it. I'm not impressed with the collateral damage to the statue of Romenetra, but taking the alternatives into account, I think that it was a necessary sacrifice. You've proved that you at least deserve a chance."

"Thanks, sir," Nick offered. "We're not going to disappoint you."

"Anyway, back to the problem at hand," Doctor Krengelore said, smiling at the green ranger. "I have arranged for some experimental Cosmo Fighters to be sent down to the weapon labs to be developed for you in extreme circumstances. But they won't be ready for a while. Neither will the other stuff we are in the process of arranging for you. I'm about to put the order in as soon as you leave."

"Is there anything else that you require from us, sir?" Max asked. "Anything else at all?"

"There would appear to be nothing," the Psorian answered. "However, there is one last thing that I should tell you. Despite accepting this top secret mission for us, you are still representing Cosmo Force. Should the occasion arise to offer aid where it is needed to your fellow cadets, I expect you to exercise your best judgement. That is all."

With that, he turned and went to sit down behind his desk, the five cadets realising that they had effectively just been dismissed.

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"So, how to kill some time until we're ready?" Diana wondered, the five of them in the elevator leading back down to ground level. As a regard to his status, Doctor Krengelore's office was at the highest inhabitable point of the Stronghold, the penthouse floor of the tallest building. "Ready for whatever it is we need to be ready for."

"Isn't it patently obvious?" Lily growed, rolling her eyes. "Looks like we're going to be here for another day, maximum. That can mean only one thing in these circumstances."

"They're arranging for some transport and a crew for us," Sandy offered, putting it in a slightly kinder tone than Lily had. "The five of us couldn't be expected to do a job like this on our own, we'd need a pilot to keep the ship in orbit while we get done what we do, at the very least."

"I like the idea of us getting our own Cosmo Fighters," Max remarked, not really listening. "Those things are awesome."

"They are indeed," Nick confirmed. "If the flight simulator is anything to go by, then..."

"You two do know that it's not meant to be fun, right?" Lily grunted. "They're expensive aerial combat vehicles meant for a last resort."

"Since when were you the responsible one?" Diana wondered, raising an eyebrow at the black ranger. "That's most out of character."

"I'm just making the point," she argued. "What's it to you, anyway?"  
"Woah, chill out!" Max interrupted, looking at the two of them. "Calm it down. We're supposed to be a team. Not arguing over trivial things like this."

"He has got a point," Sandy commented. "Save the arguing until we're at least off the Stronghold. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Probably," Nick quipped, grinning at the thought, before both Lily and Diana rounded on him with dark looks. "Not."

"Anyway," Max said, shaking his head softly at what he had just seen. "If we're going to be leaving the Stronghold shortly, I suggest that we gather together some stuff that we're going to need in the immediate future. This might well be a long mission, we don't know how long it'll be before we get to return here."

"Max?" Lily asked, giving him a sweet smile that seemed slightly forced. "Can I just ask you one question? Who put you in charge?"

"Nobody," the red ranger answered. "But, I reckon someone needs to pull us together through thick and thin right now. Because..."

"And that someone automatically has to be you?" Diana asked. "Not that I'm bothered whoever it is, but..."

"Whatever," Max muttered, as the elevator doors slid open in front of them. "We'll work it out later."

* * *

Having arrived back at his home, Max had immediately changed out of his uniform into his off duty clothes, the red shirt and blue jeans combo that he usually wore. It was at that point that he realised the ironic coincidence in his colour choice, given the powers that he had just taken on.

"Strange, huh?" he said, to nobody in particular, before reaching down under the bed to pull out his suitcase. Opening it up, he found himself glancing around the small living quarters that he had called home for the last few years. As he did so, his eyes flickered across the only digital image in the apartment, an image of himself at the age of five with his parents, a human woman and a man who was an Infernape PokéMorph, all three of them in one of the parks on the Stronghold. It had probably been taken fourteen or fifteen years ago now. After a moments pondering over the picture, he walked over and dropped it into the case, before moving to put his uniform inside as well.

It was then that the portable radio-like communicators that cadets used out in the field began to speak out, broadcasting an incoming message. He hadn't had it on him for most of the day, having left it behind before going to try and catch the Grobalski, as not to give himself away at a vital moment.

"Reports of a robbery taking place," the communicator buzzed, oblivious to the fact that Max was trying to slide some more spare clothes into the case. "Investigation immediately required."

Shaking his head, the new red ranger tossed his clothes onto the floor, reached over to pick up his Cosmo Blaster and badge, before moving towards the door, the communicator in the pocket of his jeans.

Maybe, he thought, it wouldn't be that troublesome to deal with. Plus, if there was at least a day's wait before he and the other new rangers could leave the Stronghold, he might as well make it a little safer.

* * *

"What's the situation?"

The reported crime was taking place in another district to the one that the battle with the Oblivings had been in, meaning that the way of life had been relatively undisturbed. Although the districts were close by, they were separated by heavy metal doors which were automatically locked in case of an emergency to preserve the many other districts across the Stronghold. All in all, there were over fifty such districts upon the space station, all of which were able to hold between fifty and a hundred thousand inhabitants, such was their size. Having come across, Max had flashed his badge to one of the four cadets already on the scene and was trying to find out what was going on.

"Guy walked in and locked the doors," one of the other cadets replied. She was a Sauropod, a humanoid Ivysaur-like Poké Alien with silver coloured skin, brown hair in a ponytail and purple coloured eyes. "He then began to demand the credit take of the day and the codes for the safe. He's got a blaster..."

"So have I," Max answered, quickly. "You got a plan of action?"

"We were going to go in through the back door," the Sauropod answered. "Send someone over there, before creating a distraction over here. Allow them time to get a stun grenade into the room."

"What is he?" the red ranger quickly asked, picking up a stun grenade. "Need to know what setting to use it at."

"He's a Raxel," the Sauropod cadet answered. "X-ray vision, which means that you'd need to crank up the sound, lower the flash ability."

"If he's a Raxel, then why am I sneaking around the back? Surely he's going to..."

"We managed to get a look at the video feed," another cadet offered. "He's not fully grown yet, meaning that..."

"It won't be as effective as it could be," Max answered. "Got it. I'll go round the back and you guys make the distraction around here."

"Excuse me?" the third cadet asked. "This is our case, why are you..."

"I got the call saying that this was an emergency, and assistance was requested," Max retorted, dryly. "Trust me, I'm here to help. I'm not going to muscle in on your arrest, my priority is that the people inside that place get out safe and unharmed!"  
Upon hearing no response, he took out his Cosmo Blaster and began to walk around the side of the building, keeping low and far away from the wall of the restaurant just to be careful he wasn't seen.

* * *

"Okay, you're clear to go," the voice of the Sauropod cadet said, through the radio. "We're making the distraction... Now!"  
Sliding the handle of the door down to let it open, the red ranger made his way through the doorway, entering the kitchen of the establishment. Unsurprisingly, it was empty, the catering staff having long since fled through the way he had just entered the building. Moving closer to the door to the public eating areas, he could hear the voice loud and clear...

"Back off, right now! I hear one more thing and I'm going to start shooting these hostages!"

There was something familiar about the voice, something that he couldn't place. Pushing it away to the back of his mind, he took out the stun grenade, checked the settings before knocking the door open and tossing it in. Barely three seconds after landing, the item exploded in a burst of light and sound, Max getting the impression that the hostage taker had been knocked off his feet by the attack. Already rushing into the restaurant's eating area, he found that he'd been proved right, the Poké Alien laid on his back, groaning. He was a humanoid, his skin was covered in liht blue coloured fur and he had the head of a Luxio. He wore a black shirt and white pants, as well as some brown coloured sandals. And it was then that the red ranger realised where he had seen the figure before.

"I know you!" Max exclaimed, looking down at the criminal in front of him. "But, that's..."

Below him, the Raxel's eyebrows raised up as though he recognised the cadet but was unable to hear what he had said.

* * *

"Okay," the Sauropod cadet replied, giving Max an annoyed look. "You did the heroic part, you left us with the paperwork, thanks for that by the way..."

He ignored the comment, knowing that it was something that they all had to do.

"... And now you want to interview him? You want to interview Rohan Gaschet?"

"Interview might be a bit formal," the red ranger answered. "I just want to talk to him, see if there's anything in it."  
"Any particular reason?" she said, her annoyed expression moving into a glare. "Because, we want to get the case closed, get him charged and send him to Acathria before it turns into something more than it us."

Acathria? Max thought, a little surprised although he didn't know why. Acathria was a Prison Dimension, a place where they threw criminals after they were charged and convicted. Armed robbery of a restaurant was the lighter end of the scale for crimes that usually resulted in a stint in Acathria, but he presumed they'd checked out his previous record and deemed it necessary.

"I just want to have five minutes with him, ask him a few questions and depending what I find out, I might be out of your hair by then."

* * *

"Ah, it's you," Rohan commented, looking up at the cadet as he walked into the room. "Good to see you again. What's it been? Six years? Five?"

"Shut up, Rohan!" Max exclaimed. "Unless you've got something helpful to say, just keep quiet."

"That's a fine way to treat an old friend," Rohan muttered, rolling his eyes. "I see right through you."

"Only because I let you," the red ranger answered, finishing the saying. "Surprised to see you back on the Stronghold. Thought you said that you were never going to come back."

"Needs must and likewise," the Raxel replied. "I had to come back for some business."

"You came back to try and steal the weekly take for a small restaurant?"

"This is just the start," Rohan taunted, suddenly visibly laughing. "Soon, we're going to have all the money in the universe."

"We? Is that why you came back here?" Max asked, ignoring the laughter. "You're not still working for him, are you?"

"Carter Banks?" Rohan replied, trying and failing to appear innocent. "I heard no mention of Carter Banks."

"That's because I didn't bring his name up," Max answered. "Where is he?"

"I can assure you I have no idea," Rohan said, quickly. "Whatever gave you such an impression that I did."

"Because, I know you and I can tell when you're lying," the red ranger commented, sarcastically. "Your lips move. Repeatedly."

"That's an unfair judgement," Rohan complained. "I tell the truth plenty of times."

"Where is he, Rohan," Max repeated. "Come to think of it, if you're going to have all the money in the universe, how is robbing a restaurant going to help you?

"That was nothing, I was just bored and I thought it'd be a few easy credits," the thief admitted. "But, this new plan of Carter's... It's big, bold, reckless and... Incredibly dangerous. If we get caught, it's not going to be the Prison Dimension, it's going to be the death penalty."

"As it stands, you're going for a stint in Acathria," Max pointed out. "Because of your previous crimes, you're likely to get at least three years. Three years in the biggest hell hole in the galaxy."

"I can take it," Rohan retorted. "How bad could it be?"  
"The last Raxel that went there was skinned and made into a rug," Max replied. He was lying, but he didn't want Rohan to know that, he was too close to making him crack.

"Can't you get me out of it for old times sake?" Rohan asked, suddenly pleading. "We used to be friends, man. Can't you put in a good word for me, get it reduced?"

"I don't think that I can, Rohan," Max said, shaking his head for effect. "But, maybe if you gave us something, we could reconstitute you as a witness, put you into a program. New life on a planet far far away..."

"What do you need?"

"Give me Carter Banks' location," Max answered, immediately. "Where is he?"

"He's holed up in a basement in the 4th district," Rohan answered, all pretence of loyalty gone. "But, you won't be able to get to him. He's guarded by a bio-lock on the door, you'd need to be registered to get in... And, it was slightly after your time, man. When you went to join Cosmo Force, he thought you might try to come back and get him."

"Seriously?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "I didn't know that he thought that highly of me. Either he really respects my ability, or he's on one hell of an ego-trip, thinking that coming after him would be the first thing that I did when I graduated."

"I think it's more likely to be the latter," Rohan commented, sarcastically. "Anyway, the only way you're going to get close to him is if I go with you."

* * *

"You're doing WHAT?" the Sauropod cadet demanded, upon hearing his request. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Cadet Vynult, can you please lower your tone," Max said, quickly. "He's willing to give us the leader of his gang in exchange for a more lenient sentence. He's willing to testify against him in exchange for immunity."

"I can't believe you're even considering this," she said, shaking her head. "If he gives you the slip, you're taking a real risk to the safety of the Stronghold."

"I think the risks are worth it," the red ranger said, staring at her. "Have a little faith in my judgement, I know what I'm doing."

"Oh really?"  
"And, I'll be sure to mention your cooperation in my report," he added, noticing the disgusted expression flash across her face.

"You honour me so much," she said, turning to leave. "On your head be it, I'm not in the mood for arguing with you. You're going to do it anyway, no matter what. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to file a complaint about your conduct to Cosmo Force high command."

"That seems petty," Max remarked. "What's your problem with what I'm trying to do?"

Rather than answer him, she stormed out of the room and left him alone.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?" Lily asked, she and the other three new rangers having met up in one of the locker rooms at the Cosmo Force building, just as they had all arranged before splitting up. "He should be here by now."

"Who we talking about?" Nick wondered, looking at her in surprise.

"Krengelore," she replied, sarcastically. "Max, you moron. Who do you think I'm talking about?"

"Max?" Nick asked, trying to sound innocent. "Max's gone to try and catch the leader of a criminal gang."

"You are joking, right?" Lily replied, angrily. "After that big speech he gave us earlier about trying to get along and work as a team."

"Calm down, Lily," Sandy interrupted. "You ever think that maybe you have anger issues?"

"I think I've noticed that," Diana piped up, before getting a dirty look from the black ranger. Rather than be intimidated by it, she instead stared back at her, trying to match the intensity of the gaze. "Interesting, huh?"

"How do you know where Max went?" Sandy asked, looking over at the green ranger. "Did he tell you?"

"Yeah, I got a call from him," Nick answered. "He said that it shouldn't take too long and that we should wait for him."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Lily replied, her jaw twitching with frustration. "He say where he was going?"

"Something about a building in the 4th district," Nick answered. "But, he did not reveal which one."

"Guess we could always find out," Diana offered, smiling slightly. "Because, he might need backup. And, since we're a team now, it's the least we could do."

"Let's see if we can track him down, then," Sandy said. "If nothing else, it'll be a test to our collective abilities."

* * *

"This is it," Rohan said, gesturing at a door in front of the two of them. "This is the way to the boss."

"Remember, if this turns out to be crap," Max warned. "You'll wish that we'd thrown you into Acathria straight away."

"I can promise you with all my heart that this is not going to be crap," Rohan answered, placing his hand on the palm reader for the door. "You won't be upset by what you find here."

Watching the door slide open, Max immediately took a step inside, Cosmo Blaster ready to be used...

... Only for an electrical surge to pass through his body, sending him crashing down the stairs. By the time he hit the ground at the bottom, he was unconscious.

"Not by it being empty, anyway," Rohan said, lightly.

* * *

"Okay, so he and the suspect left the building here," Sandy said, gesturing down at the monitor. "The security cameras show that..."

"We've been down on the streets and discovered a few people who saw him," Diana offered. Rather than be in her own form, she had transformed into a direct replica of Sandy, something that the blue ranger wasn't finding that funny. Neither, seemingly, was Nick.

"That's just creepy," he remarked. "Can't tell which one's which."

"Can you now?" Diana asked, walking over to him. Morphing back into her original form, she quickly assumed Nick's own appearance, startling the green ranger. "Huh?"

"Wow, it's like looking in a mirror," Lily commented, rolling her eyes. "Dumb and dumber. Carry on telling her what we found out down there."

"Anyway," Diana continued, still speaking in Nick's voice. "One of the other people we asked who saw him, was an attendant at the gates to get into the 4th district. They never saw him leave, neither did any of the other attendants. I asked them to..."

She paused for a moment, transforming back into her own regular appearance.

"... Give us a call and let us know if it came down to it," she continued. "Which would lead us to assume that they're still in there somewhere."

"And I checked out Rohan Gaschet," Nick offered. "He's a small time crook, been charged with a few minor crimes. Assault, theft, couple of other crimes that weren't committed on the Stronghold. Add what he was taken in for today, and he's looking at three to seven years in Acathria."

"Anything else?" Sandy asked. "Anything as to why Max would take an interest?"

"Well, there was something..." Nick started to say, before hesitating, almost as if he was wondering whether or not it was worth speaking aloud. "I think it could be linked."

"Go on," Diana said. "Amaze us. See if it's better than what we discovered by going out and talking."

"Rohan Gaschet was a known member of a gang," Nick replied. "The Outcasts. I ran them through the system as well, just to see what I could glean about them. They're not one of the biggest gangs in the galaxy, hell, they're probably not one of the biggest gangs on the Stronghold..."

"Get on with it!" Lily muttered. "We've not got all day."

"But, one piece of useful information that I did discover is quite interesting," he said. "About six years ago, Cosmo Force made an arrest. They managed to capture one of the Outcasts after he tried to pick the pocket of a Commander in the Force. As far as I can tell, the guy who brought him in gave him a choice. Either face a spell being detained, or join the academy."

"The Cosmo Force academy?" Sandy asked, slightly surprised by the information. "Really?"

"Happens more than you think," Lily commented. "Of course it was the Cosmo Force academy, it wasn't the Academy of Galactic Dance and Vocalisation."

"She makes a good point," Diana remarked. "It wasn't going to be that place."

"Is this member of the Outcast who I think it is?" Sandy asked, still scanning the video images of the 4th district. "It's someone that we know, right?"

"One Max Redwood," Nick replied, holding up a datapad, the screen showing a picture of their missing comrade. "Seems like there's a part of him that he's been keeping secret for the last several years."

"You have to be so suspicious?" Lily demanded. "Just because someone has a shady past doesn't mean that they can't be fully devoted to the job at hand."

In the several moments that passed following her comment, the four cadets stood in silence, each mulling over their own private thoughts, before Sandy finally spoke up.

"Think I might have something," the blue ranger offered. "Video footage of the two of them walking past a store... There's an alley between this store and the one next to it, and a camera on the next building along. I assume they went into the alley."

"Seems like a great place to start looking," Nick commented. "All in favour of moving on out..."

"Might as well get on it," Diana offered. "I have the feeling that he's going to need our help sooner or later."

* * *

"It's time to wake up!"

The sharp burst of cold water struck him across the upper body and face, immediately waking him up. He couldn't help but let out a groan, feeling the corrosive touch race across his body, a sign of his heritage. He was confined to a chair via laser constraints, preventing him from any sort of major movement.

"Look at this," the still familiar voice, despite it being so long since he had last heard it, said. "It has been a while, Max, how have you been?"

Forcing his eyes open, he saw Carter Banks stood in front of him, Rohan across the room, already filling up another bucket of water. Carter was a purple skinned Nidoking-like alien wearing a black suit, white shirt and tie. Somehow, his eyes were covered in a thick black smoking, his pupils unable to be seen behind the smog.

"Not bad, Carter," he muttered, his skin still chafing from the water. "What about you? Still a reckless no-mark who hangs around in basements like some sort of ..."

Again, the water hit him, silencing him.

"And, despite the uniform and the badge, you're still your father's son. That part of him that was a PokéMorph makes it really easy to hurt you."

"Think abut it, Carter," Max groaned. "You've got away with it so far, there's no way it's going to happen again if you keep me here."

"No, I know," he replied. "It's just a shame that my people don't have someone in Cosmo Force who can wrangle it for me... Oh wait, they do."

"Your people?" Max asked, before he saw Cadet Vynult walk into the room, still wearing her uniform. "Oh come on!"

"You had to interfere, didn't you?" she demanded. "Couldn't just have stayed away, then it wouldn't have had to end like this?"

"Unlike some of us, I actually respect the uniform," Max shot back, angrily. "Unlike some of us taking kickbacks from scum like him."

"Actually, I take my bribes from scum like his boss," she replied. "Personally, I don't care about Banks. He can burn for all I care."

"Hey, watch it!" Carter protested. "We're on the same side."

"Doesn't mean that I respect you," Vynult commented. "You're still a parasite preying on the underbelly of society."

"And, you're breaking an oath that you swore to uphold by standing here talking to me," Carter retorted. "Nobody's perfect."

"They always like this?" Max asked, looking over at Rohan who had been absentmindedly filling up another bucket of water. "Because, I imagine it gets pretty annoying after a while."

"You have no idea," Rohan answered, before backing down as he took disgusted looks from both Vynult and Carter. "What, it's true."

* * *

"Think this might be the place," Sandy commented, looking at the door in front of them. "Now, if only there was a certain way to fool the palm reader, we could do this silently."

"I have a suggestion," Diana offered. "One that's just about crazy enough to work."

Stepping forward, moving close to the door, she began to transform, altering her entire body into a duplicate of Rohan Gaschet.

"That makes sense," Lily muttered, begrudgingly watching the yellow ranger start to activate the palm reader. "Just be careful. Some of these things have a sensor on the other side, one that'll zap you if your biological profile doesn't match the one you just gave. It's a precaution in case someone tries to trick the palm reader, either with a severed hand..."

"Okay, seriously?" Nick asked, rolling his eyes. "How many times has that happened, ever?"

"... Or you force someone into opening the door," Lily finished. "Personally, I'd go for the former. It's quicker and easier."

Seeing the looks she was getting, even from Diana who was opening the door, she felt obliged to defend herself.

"If I had to make a split second decision on it."

Shaking her head, Diana, still in her Rohan Gaschet appearance stepped through the door and pushed several buttons. Before the rest of the rangers could react, a low electrical hum rang out, signalling the sensor had been deactivated.

"That's that," she said, rubbing her hands together. "Yay, I rule. Now, how are we going to play this?"

"I've got a plan," Lily offered, a dark grin starting to move across her face. "One that should really confuse them..."

* * *

"Sorry that it had to turn out this way," Vynult said, pointing her Cosmo Blaster at Max. "But..."

"You're not at all though, are you?" he muttered, turning his face to avoid looking at her. He kept it that way for a moment, before realising that it looked like he was afraid of what was coming. "This was why you wanted to keep hold of Rohan, wasn't it?"

"Of course not," she replied, shooting a look at the Raxel across from them. Away from where they were, Carter was checking something in his briefcase. "I was trying to get him out of there so the Outcasts could get done what they need to do."  
"And what is that?" the red ranger asked, desperate to keep her talking, anything to buy himself some time.  
"We're going to rob the Galactic Bank," Carter offered, not really concerned with what was being given out as information. "Our benefactor could use some new funds, all while weakening everyone else at the same time. It is absolute and complete..."

"STOP!"

Hearing the shout, everyone looked over to the entrance of the room, the door open to reveal another version of Rohan Gaschet, an appearance that made the version that was already in leap up in shock.

"That Raxel is an impostor!" the new Rohan exclaimed, jabbing his finger at the figure. "It's all part of a sting operation to..."

"Liar!" Vynult screamed, rounding on the newly arrived Rohan, bringing her Cosmo Blaster up. "You're not going to get away with that!"

"Oh well, thought it was worth a try," the new Rohan commented, turning back into the regular guise of Diana Camerons. Bringing her gloved fist up, she clenched her fist together and gave the command.

"Cosmosis!"

Morphing into her ranger suit, completely taking everyone bar Max by surprise, she leaped forward and kicked the weapon out of Vynult's hand, kicking her back with her other foot.

* * *

"Okay, that's our sign to get onto the scene!" Sandy exclaimed, the three of them hearing the sounds of action from the other side of the room. "Let's do this!"

"Cosmosis!"

With all three of them giving the command at the same time, they morphed into their ranger suits, before moving into the room to join Diana. Seeing them come in, Max took the opportunity to breath a sigh of relief.

"What took you so long?" he asked, unable to hide his relief. "Thought you weren't coming."

"You're welcome," Lily muttered, punching out Rohan who was knocked out cold by her attacks. "Next time, might want to tell us where you're going and we'll be here sooner."

Ignoring the exchange, Sandy and Nick were taking on Vynult, knowing that she was just as well trained as they were. That meant that she wasn't a foe to be underestimated.

With all this going on around them, Diana leaped over to the table and scrabbled around for the controls to shut the laser ropes confining Max off. Not hesitating, the red ranger leaped out of his seat and brought up the gloved fist containing his morpher.

"Told you that you were going to regret it, Carter!" he yelled, clenching his fist together. "Cosmosis!"

Like the others had done before him, Max quickly morphed into his suit and kicked Carter in the face, knocking him back against the wall.

* * *

At the other side of the small room, Vynult had turned out to be a tougher opponent than either Sandy or Nick had anticipated. Even with their ranger powers, the Sauropod cadet was able to match them. As Nick tried to kick her, she threw up an arm and blasted him with a flurry of razor sharp leaves, ejected from a slit in her wrist. Seeing her team mate thrown back by the attack, Sandy brought up her Cosmo Baton and tried to hit Vynult in the back, only for the Sauropod to knock her off her feet with a pair of vines used in the same fashion as the leaves.

"Hey, Vynult!"  
Turning, the crooked cadet was immediately hit by a blast from Lily's CED, the orb of energy sucking her inside, before converting her into a metal card.

"Heads up," the black ranger quipped, looking around to where Carter was stood. "Now, guess who has it coming next?"

"So, you caught her?" Carter commented, shrugging his shoulders. "Big deal. I've got some friends that you might find a little more challenging."

Clapping both of his hands together, a group of Oblivings appeared, suddenly cramping up the room even more.

"What the...?" Diana exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"An Obliving's taken control of him," Max said, softly. "I thought that was the case earlier, when I saw his eyes. But, now I'm sure."

"Congratulations," Carter sneered. "You want a medal?"

"Might get one when we take you in," Nick commented, dryly. "You want to do it easy, or..."

"I think I'm going to take my chances," Carter retorted, rolling his black smoke covered eyes. "Oblivings! Attack!"

At his command, the foot soldiers began to move in, ready to fight, each of them letting out a series of shrieks as a battle cry.

"Let's get them!" Max yelled, already moving to attack the closest one to him. Throwing out a kick, he knocked it to the ground, bringing another screech from it. Before it could recover, he brought up his Cosmo Blaster and finished it off, only for another two to come in and flank him.

In the same moments, Lily brought out her Cosmo Baton and swatted two of them away, hitting them quickly and expertly. As another tried to sneak upon her, the black ranger kicked the Obliving away from where she was, Nick hitting the thrown Obliving with a punch that knocked it off its feet.

At the other side of the room, Sandy and Diana were trying to make their way towards Carter, fighting their way through the mass of Oblivings determined to stop them. As a gap opened up in the crowd, leaving a clear path to their enemy, Diana stepped into the breach and pointed at him with the hand that her CED rested upon.

"Sayonara, moron!" she said, confidently. Before he could react, she fired the orb at him intending for it to trap and contain him. She didn't expect for him to swat it out of the way, sending it crashing into the wall before it vanished.

"You're not going to get away with it that easily," he taunted, wagging a finger at her. "You insult me!"

With that, he strode forward and kicked her in the stomach, sending her staggering away from him. Before she could recover, he threw out an arm and clubbed her to the ground, his poison tipped claws digging into her ranger suit. As Diana went down, Sandy grabbed him by the collar of his suit and tossed him through the air, his heavy body smashing through several Oblivings to dispel them. Groaning in pain as he hit the ground, Carter tried to get up to his feet, only for Lily to break out of her groove of beating back Oblivings with her baton and hit him five times in the chest and upper body without reply. His groans were replaced with roars, compounded as Nick sprang in and kicked him in the back, sending him smashing to the ground on his stomach. Again, he tried to get up, and managed it this time. As he turned to unleash his wrath on the rangers, Max raced in and kicked him, his blow catching the gang boss in the shoulder. Taking the attack, Carter struck back with a punch, much in the same fashion as the one he had employed against Diana. Only, having seen it before, Max managed to evade it, moving to the side and seeing the punch hit empty air. Before Carter could recover, Diana managed to get up and shoot him several times with her Cosmo Blaster, each shot burning through his suit and marking his body.

Rather than taking him down, the attacks seemed to galvanise him, sending him further into a frenzy. Swinging out his tail, he knocked Sandy off her feet as she was trying to get at him from behind, before hurling a punch at Lily. With the black ranger off balance and her back turned to fight the Oblivings around her, she was knocked from her feet, groaning as she landed on her back.

"Come on, Carter!" Max yelled, jumping back into the fray, landing a flying kick onto his old boss. "This is between you and me. I'm going to take you down!"

At his scream, his fist burst into flames, completely involuntarily. Rather than question it, his first reaction was to smash the burning limb into Carter's face, knocking him off his feet and up into the air. Watching him hit the ceiling and bounce off back towards the ground, Max quickly activated his CED and threw out an orb. This time, unlike when Diana had tried it earlier, the attack worked and contained him, everyone present hearing it as the metal card dropped to the floor of the basement.

Knowing that the battle wasn't won yet, the five of them kept on fighting, not letting up until every Obliving was down. It wasn't long before they became victorious, the last Obliving going down within the space of five minutes after Carter had been contained.

It was about that time that they realised at some point during the melee, Rohan had woken up from his unconscious state and fled the scene, something that left a slightly bitter taste in the mouth of each cadet present.

"At least we got two of them," Sandy offered, looking down at the two containment cards, one holding Vynult and the other containing Carter. "It's better than nothing."

* * *

"Strange day, huh?" Max commented, as the five of them left the Cosmo Force building, fresh from handing over Vynult and Carter. "At least it did kill time."

None of the other rangers really made a response, save for a few grunts from Lily, forcing the red ranger to stop.

"What?" he asked, surprised. "What's that for?"

"Any reason that you didn't call us for backup?" Diana asked, breaking the silence to round on him. "We're supposed to be a team, but you forgot that!"  
"Yeah, then we had to come and rescue your sorry skin," Lily added. "Not that we have a probem doing that, but it's nice to be asked rather than having to do it voluntarily."

"And, if we ever come across a crazed Octorian hunter who wants to turn you into a rug, I'll return the favor," Max said, grinning at them all. "Seriously though, guys. Thanks."

"Come on, Max," Sandy replied, hearing the apology but willing to push the point. "Why didn't you give us the call?"

For a moment, the red ranger seemed to consider the question, mulling it over before answering.

"I guess that I didn't want you guys to know that I had a past as a criminal. Actually, it's not so much that, it's just I didn't want you to hear it from a pile of scum like Rohan. Because, he would have mentioned it. If you'd heard it like that..."

"Hey, we all have secrets in our past," Sandy pointed out. "And, they have to come out some time."

"It's true," Lily commented. "There's some things about me that I really wouldn't want you guys to find out."  
"Did you charge by the hour?" Nick asked, winking at her. Without warning, Lily reached over and slapped him on the back of the head.

"What's wrong with you, you freak?" she demanded. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Ah, guys?" Max said, looking around at them, ready to break the two of them up if he had to. "There was a message in there for us. One from Doctor Krengelore, telling us to get on on over to docking bay 345. In his words, there's a surprise waiting for us."

"Sounds very much like our wait is over," Diana commented. "Yay! Shall we?"

* * *

"Wow, check that out!" Nick exclaimed, as the five of them walked into the docking bay to see the ship that the Council had offered them. "An A-Class Aerobian Battle Cruiser."

"You're getting way too excited over this," Lily muttered, looking up at the ship in front of them. It was designed to look like a silver coloured Pidgeot in flight, however the wings were only half tucked into a flight position to avoid an obvious target in battle. The entrance hatch was nestled in the side of the neck, the ship held in place by large electromagnets to stop it falling away out into space. In front of the ship was an Aerobian, wearing a black coloured Cosmo Force uniform with a silver trim. The Aerobian, like most of his species, was a Pidgeot-like Poké Alien, humanoid for the most part but with the face of a Pidgeot. However, he had a pair of humanoid arms, but his legs, despite being covered in silver battle armour,ended in talons. His body was covered in red and cream coloured feathers, the red being where the brown colour would normally be on a Pidgeot, while the crest on his head was a silver colour. At his back, he had a pair of huge wings folded up behind him, both in the same dark red colour as the rest of his feathers.

"This is docking bay 345, isn't it?" Diana asked, looking up at the Aerobian. "Right?"

"Correct," he replied, his arms folded in front of him. "You're the cadets sent over on the special mission by the Council, correct?"

"That's right," Max said, quickly. "You're a Cosmo Force Commandant?"

"Correct," he answered. "Commandant Peregrine Griote. My codename is Falco, and this is my ship. The Night Hawk. If you wish to come on board, then more will be explained very shortly."

Not hesitating, the five of them made to follow Falco into the Night Hawk, all a little intimidated by the apparently stern presence of the Commandant.

"This is going to get very interesting," Sandy muttered. "Can't wait to check out some of this ship."

* * *

"At least you got away."

Stood before Carter's boss, Rohan suddenly felt nervous. For someone who had lost the chance of gaining a huge amount of money, he seemed too calm. And that had to be bad news for him. The employers seemed to sense his discomfort, holding up a hand to try and calm him.

"Relax, Rohan," he said. "As long as you tell me the whole truth, then you have nothing to worry about."

For the next five minutes, Rohan spoke, the figure behind the desk listening intently to every word. Eventually, he finished his tale, before visibly flinching at the look of acceptance upon the face of the figure across from him.

"There's nothing there that's overly suspicious," he remarked. "I already told you not to look so worried. The loss of Carter is a problem, with him goes the Outcasts, but that's something that I can get by without. If anything, I'm impressed with the initiative that you showed to get out of there. That's the sort of thing that Romerenko Enterprises needs."

Still, Rohan couldn't help but feel remotely suspicious. He knew that someone was at their most vulnerable whenever they were made to feel safe, and the figure in front of him exuded danger, despite his outward friendliness.

"Mr. Gaschet," he continued, still smiling at the Raxel. "Thanks to the departure of Carter Banks, I now have a vacancy. If you are willing to fill that vacancy, then I will be willing to accept you into the fold."

"So, you're not going to kill me for incompetence?" Rohan asked, his relief almost physical as he spoke.

"I don't see the value in it right now," the figure answered. "Do you accept my job offer?"

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go right now," the Raxel answered. "I would very much like the position."

"I thought you might," his new boss answered. "Of course, there is one condition first, one quite important one that you will have to comply with."

"Okay," Rohan answered, his initial fear having been replaced with elation seconds earlier, had now changed to surprise and bemusement. "What is it?"

Rather than answer, the figure behind the desk nodded to something in the darkest corners of his office. Before Rohan could react, an Obliving sprang out from the shadows and planted itself across his face. His screams were muted heavily against the blanket of smoke, until it crawled down his throat, silencing him.

Several seconds later, Rohan straightened up, before patting himself on the throat. As the covering of black smoke erupted across his eyes for a second, before fading away, the figure behind the desk spoke up.

"Welcome to Romerenko Enterprises."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Well, that's that. The first 'real' episode of the season. By that, I mean the one that isn't the introduction chapter.**

**Ah, I promised new characters. There's Falco and the guy behind the desk. And possibly Rohan.**

**Battling guys possessed by Oblivings is surprisingly akin to Pokémon battling. Wear them down before catching them.**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Seriously, that's brilliant.**

**The next one is entitled Cyborg. Preview is below.**

**Remember the Prison Dimension? It apparently has a better name now.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

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**Chapter Four, Cyborg, preview.**

**Sandy: The Night Hawk is an awesome ship.**

**Falco: We're being hailed from Alysium.**

**?: These hackers are trying to upload a virus into our defense mainframe.**

**Nick: That would leave them open to attack.**

**Sandy: I can get rid of it.**

**Max: It's time to call in the Cosmo Fighters.**

**Sandy: I feel strange.**

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**Coming soon.**


	4. Cyborg

Chapter Four. Cyborg.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_As five cadets of Cosmo Force gained the power to become a brand new breed of Poké Rangers, Doctor Krengelore, the Galactic Executive promised them that he would take care of things for them, so that they could carry on with their mission. In the meantime, Max discovered that an old friend of his robbing a restaurant. As he took him in, Rohan revealed some information about his old boss, forcing Max to go and try to get him. Inevitably, he was captured by Carter and Cadet Vynult, forcing the other rangers to come to his rescue. Later, they met Peregrine 'Falco' Griote, the Commandant of the Night Hawk, their new ship..._

_

* * *

_

"And, this is the crew," Falco said, leading them into the main briefing room of the Night Hawk, where a multitude of various Poké Aliens were waiting. As the five cadets took in the appearances of their new comrades, they couldn't help but think that some of them seemed to be more familiar than others. Of course, all of them were a humanoid shape, enabling them to go about their jobs with complete ease.

"You've already met me of course," Falco chuckled, apparently amused by his own joke. "So, this is my first mate, Payne O'Roarke..."

Responding to Falco's comment, a Felaine, a Persian-like Poké Alien with jet black fur, nodded his feline head at them. Across his back, he had several dark orange stripes, while he wore a dark blue uniform with a Cosmo Force logo on the lapels.

"... Our pilot, Golde Featherclaw..."

Like Falco, Golde was an Aerobian, the only difference being that he was a lot younger than the Commandant. Rather than the Pidgeot appearance of his superior, Golde had the face of a Pidgeotto and his wings weren't as large as the other Aerobian. And, unlike Falco, his feathers were a royal blue colour with a golden tinge.

"... Evelyn Bliss, the medical officer..."

Bliss, true to her name, was a white skinned Blissey-like Poké Alien, wearing an orange uniform with a medical cross on the upper arms, a utility belt around her waist. As Falco said her name, she smiled at the five cadets in greeting.

"Those two there are our engineering crew, Chebek and Blister," Falco said, gesturing to a Charian and a Typhig who weren't really paying any attention to what was going on around them. Chebek, the Charian, was a Charmeleon-like Poké Alien with green skin and yellow spots on his back. Blister, the Typhig, was a Quilava-like Poké Alien with brown coloured fur. Both of them wore overalls that were covered in rips and oil stains.

"There is our chef, Gordon Blake," Falco continued, ignoring the two engineers to gesture at a pale skinned bald man wearing chef's whites. "And finally, a new arrival who we took on board at the behest of the Council..."

Stepping out from behind the rest of them, a very familiar looking Psorian glanced over at the rangers before giving them a smile.

"I believe you may know Doctor Katongo," Falco said, stiffly. "Apparently, they believe that since he had such a great role in creating your powers, he could be better served on here, along with you. He's taken on the role of armourer, scientist and weapons expert."

"I'm honoured to be here," Doctor Katongo offered, his smile vanishing as Falco glanced over at him. There was something in the Aerobian's gaze that didn't quite sit right with him, forcing him to back down.

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"So, what do you think?"

"The Night Hawk is an awesome ship," Sandy replied, smiling at Falco. "It's great to be serving on here."

"Might I remind you that you're not here to enjoy it," the Aerobian said, dryly. "But, on the other wing, I thank you."

"I just can't believe that they managed to assemble such a great crew together in a short space of time," Nick remarked. "How many of them were already serving on here?"

"Pretty much everyone barring Doctor Katongo," Falco answered. "This is my crew, we've taken on plenty of dangerous missions together."

"Sounds remarkable," Lily commented, sounding like she didn't quite believe what the Aerobian was saying. "So, where to first?"

"Miss Yushaa, there are several possible options for our first destination."

The smooth female voice that rang out through the main briefing area took each of the five cadets by surprise, only Falco not startled by the presence of it.

"Commandant Griote, I believe that there was someone you forgot to introduce in your little briefing a few moments ago," the female voice continued, sounding hurt. "Would you care to amend that error in the immediate future?"

"Since she's so ably reminded me," Falco said, rolling his beady eyes in disparagement as he spoke. "Cadets, you are hearing the voice of our artificial intelligence interface, Techno 9."  
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Techno 9 asked, her voice mollified by the acknowledgment of her presence, compounded by Max raising a hand to make a half hearted wave in the direction that the voice had come from. "To answer your question, Miss Yushaa, there are several possible options for our first destination. The closest to our current position is the planet Ralnick."

"Ralnick?" Diana asked, the surprise in her voice easily audible. "That's not that close. There's probaby about eight solar systems between us and them. At least!"

"In all relativity of course, Miss Camerons," Techno 9 replied, sounding annoyed with the yellow ranger. "If Mr. Redwood would agree so, I will pass on the message to Mr. Featherclaw to set a course for Ralnick."

"That sounds all well and good," Max answered, suddenly a bit uneasy at the way that everyone immediately began to look at him. "What's the source, what's on Ralnick?"

"Sightings of Oblivings," Techno 9 answered. "A dock worker spotted a black shadow-like being leaving a ship that had made its way from the Stronghold. Before anyone could do anything about it, the target vanished."

"Well, if nothing else, it's something to go on," Sandy remarked, glancing over at Max. "It's better than nothing."

"Let's get on with it then," the red ranger said, straightening up. "Set a course for Ralnick."

"Understood," the AI answered. "Relaying message now."  
"If you wish to explore the ship and examine your new surroundings, then I don't have a problem with that," Falco said, looking across the five cadets. "Alternatively, there are living quarters set aside for you. If you wish to go to them, Techno 9 can direct you there."

* * *

"Nice digs," Sandy remarked, as she, Lily and Diana made their way into one of the two living quarters that had been designated for the five of them. Each of the two rooms had three beds in them, the interior design on the rooms surprisingly neutral. Cold grey walls surrounded them, the floor cold and white. "It'll do, anyway."

"So, the three of us are bunking down together?" Lily asked, not sounding too enamoured with the idea. "Terrific."

"I'm sure you could find somewhere else to sleep, Lily," Diana pointed out, apparently enjoying the black ranger's discomfort. "Think there might be some room with Chebek and Blister elsewhere."

"You're joking, right?" she answered. "I bet it's unbearably hot in there, what with the two of them generating heat like they do."

"Then stop complaining about it," Diana retorted, only for Sandy to drop her case down onto the floor with a thud, silencing them both.

"I'll throw you both out if you don't stop arguing," she warned. "Okay? I'm not joking, either."

* * *

"Hey, Doc."

Looking up from where he had got settled down in his new workshop in the lower reaches of the Night Hawk, Doctor Katongo saw Max coming into the room, a look of apprehension on the red ranger's face.

"What's up, Max?" he asked. "Something on your mind?"

"There was something that I wanted to ask you about," he admitted, leaning on the opposite end of the table across from the Psorian. "Earlier, I was in battle. I had used my morpher, I was in my ranger suit..."

"All well and good," Doctor Katongo interrupted, a grin on his face. "But, I believe I told you that when I gave them to you."

"... Anyway," Max replied, a little annoyed at the interruption. "There was something I wanted to ask you. When I was in battle, I made to punch an opponent and my fist burst into flames. I can't explain it, I was wondering if you knew anything about it, anything as to why it happened."

"Ah, that," Doctor Katongo replied, sagely. "I see."

"What the hell do you mean by ah that and I see?" Max demanded, angrily. "Just give me a straight answer, I'm really not in the mood for this crap!"

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to sync up with you this soon," the Psorian answered. "Those morphers are specialist items, they are designed to synchronise up with the user. The suit takes on a form most consistent with the user's physiology, which is largely why they look like they do when you wear them. If I wore one, it'd take on a Psorian design."

"Ah," Max said, nodding as he thought about it, realising that it seemed to be true. "Now you mention it, I wonder why Sandy's is a Porygon."

"Can't possibly tell you," Doctor Katongo answered. "But, in the answer to your question, attacks also match up with your inherent abilities, hence your fire punching ability. Of course, I imagine that it was completely involuntary when you used it, it happens like that. But, as time passes and you become more in tune with the suit, who knows what may be unlocked."

"That sounds a lot better than the last time you tried to sell your design to us," Max commented. "Last time, it was a whole thing about how it 'might' work."

"This time, I know it might well work," Doctor Katongo replied, cheerfully. "Anyway, that's all, I take it."

* * *

"What do you think of these cadets we have taken on board?"

The question came from Falco, stood at the back of the cockpit as he looked on at Payne and Golde, both of them looking at the oncoming galaxy ahead of them as the Commandant spoke.

"They seem competent enough," Golde remarked. "But, I can't help wondering if placing the fate of the galaxy in their hands is a smart idea."

"I haven't had the chance to assess their abilities," Payne answered. "When I see them in action, I'll have a more viable opinion for you."

Before Falco could respond to either of them, he was cut off by the shrill beep of the communication system, Golde immediately moving to answer it, keying a five digit code into let them hear the message.

"Go right ahead, this is the Night Hawk," he said. "Over."

"Night Hawk, this is Captain Sang Tie of the 504th Regiment on Alysium. We have a huge problem and we're requesting outside assistance from Cosmo Force to aid us, over."

"What's the nature of your emergency?" Falco asked, leaning over to get closer to the speaker. "Over."

"It's rather sensitive, I'd rather not broadcast it over a radio connection," Captain Sang Tie replied. "Instead, if it could be discussed in person, you aren't too far away. All I want to say is that the safety of Alysium could depend on it. Over."

"We'll be there as soon as possible," Falco answered. "Golde, set a course for Alysium. I'm going to inform the cadets."

* * *

"Silence!"

Even though the five of them hadn't been talking, the shout from Falco was enough to get their attention, each of them looking around to see what it was that he wanted. When they saw the expression on his face, they got to their feet and threw a salute at him.

"Excellent," he remarked, his expression not changing as he spoke. "You've been trained well, but I want to know exactly how well. I hate to inform you that we have changed course, we're no longer headed for Ralnick..."

"That is something that they are aware of, Commandant," Techno 9 offered. "I informed them already. What I didn't tell them was where we changed course to, I was sure that was something you would like to reveal yourself."

"We're being hailed from Alysium," Falco said, looking across to the five cadets. "Sounds like they have a problem, one severe enough to request assistance with."

"Alysium?" Nick asked. "Really?"

"What do the five of you know about Alysium?" the Aerobian Commandant asked, staring very hard at them as he spoke. "Anything at all?"

"I think that it's highly populated," Diana offered. "There's a lot of people there. Lot of traders, lot of corporations have business interests there."

"There's about nineteen huge metropolis-sized cities on there, the rest is swamp and wetland," Sandy remarked. "I went there once, it was a few years ago now."

"Any good?" Max wondered, glancing over at the blue ranger with interest.

"Went over for a Cosmo Force seminar," she answered. "Funny story, I'll tell you it later."

"Actually, I'm sure if it's that interesting, we'd all like to hear it now," Falco said, sarcastically. "Come on, Cadet Garcia, let's hear it."

"I never said it was interesting, more funny and remarkable," Sandy conceded. "Anyway..."

"You're not following me, Cadet Garcia," he said, his beady eyes heavily focused on her. "If it's that funny, make me laugh."

* * *

"I'm not sure which was funnier," Lily remarked, as the five cadets made their way down to the shuttle bay. "That story, or the way Falco chewed you out after you told it, for an irresponsible attitude."

"Hey, I'd recently had some personal problems, okay?" Sandy demanded, rounding on the black ranger. "That was... Rehabilitation."

"You did that with a female Leafstalker because of personal problems?" Nick asked. "What sort of personal problems were they? Addicted to..."

"Can we just drop it now?" Sandy replied, grumpily. "I really don't want to go into detail on it. Not again, anyway. All I'm going to say is that I'll bat for any team, so what? I don't care. Why should you?"

For a moment, silence held out before Max spoke up to break it, a blank look on his face.

"So... Leafstalkers," he commented, thoughtfully. "Enough about them. Let's just take the shuttle down to the planet and see what those guys want down there."

"Yeah, maybe after we're done, we can go out celebrating," Nick offered, before winking at Sandy. "You can show us that place where you went."

* * *

Surprisingly, the Pidgey shaped shuttle didn't take long to ferry the five of them down to the planet's surface, the vehicle being faster than they had expected. Just as they had heard earlier, the place where they landed was an impressive metropolis city, full of huge white and silver buildings. Above them, the roar of the engines of the various hover vehicles trying to get to where the pilot needed to go could be heard in the air. Having left the shuttle at the space port, they made their way over to the place where Captain Sang Tie had earlier asked them to meet him. The Captain turned out to be a blue skinned Wigglytuff-like Poké Alien, albeit with shorter ears than normal, and a lightning bolt shaped tail. Like the rest of the military officials that they had seen on their way to him, he was wearing a red uniform with black pants.

"You're the Cosmo Force reinforcements I requested?" he asked, looking at them with interest. "Thank the creationist myth that you're here, we have a huge problem."

"Commandant Griote informed us that was the case," Max replied. "What's the problem?"

"You were a little vague on the details earlier," Diana added. "It's not helpful."

"When I explain to you the nature of the problems, you will understand why I did not wish to broadcast it," he answered. "I'm not wishing to call into question the security of your communication channels, but they can be intercepted between here and where you were."

"That's mildly insulting," Lily remarked. "We could be elsewhere, we don't have to be here helping you out."  
"Lily, be nice to the Captain," Sandy said, dryly. "We are guests on this planet, and it's not that charitable to..."

"Charity ends at home," the black ranger retorted. "So, what's the great problem?"

"Over the past several months, we have been suffering from the threat of a group of extremist hackers," Sang Tie answered. "We've tried everything to track them down, but they're just that little too wily for us."

"Plus, they seem to be able to hack into our systems at will," another member of the military remarked. "That seriously hinders our ability to coordinate an attack against them."

"So, you've got us down to hunt down a bunch of uber geeks?" Diana asked, sarcastically. "Terrific."

"Actually, they're more than likely to be a battle hardened regiment," Nick remarked. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone this long without being found. Unless, the Captain's lot are completely incompetent..."

That drew him a dirty look from Sang Tie, the Captain not realising that the green ranger wasn't finished with what he had to say.

"... Which obviously isn't the case," Nick finished, oblivious of the look. "So, where do we...?"

"You're missing our point," Sang Tie interrupted. "We didn't ask you down here to hunt them down, we already know where they are."

"Dare I ask why it is that you need us then?" Max asked. "Because, there's obviously something that you're not telling us."

"Less than a day ago, they took control of one of our watchtowers," Sang Tie replied, referring to the giant towers that watched the skies above Alysium, ready to defend against any sort of attack.

"These hackers are trying to upload a virus into our defense mainframe. They may already have done so, all we know is that they gave us the warning that if Alysium forces came within 30 feet of any entrance, they'd activate it, turning our orbital defenses off."

"That would leave them open to attack," Nick commented, looking around at the cadets. "And, there's plenty out there who might want to attack this planet."

"Thanks, Nick," Lily remarked, sarcastically. "That didn't dawn on us."

"Is this what you want us for?" Diana asked. "To take them out and retrieve your tower?"  
"If you think that you're up to the challenge," Sang Tie answered. "If not, I might have to give the order to have the tower levelled with artillery."

"Hey, that's a bit drastic!" Max exclaimed. "Especially when we can probably do it. They never said anything about Cosmo Force coming closer than thirty feet."

"Tell us about the tower security," Sandy said, glancing at the Captain. "What we'd need to do to get in and the like."

* * *

"Feel like making history?" Nick quipped, glancing over at Lily and Sandy, the three of them hovering about fifty feet above the tower. "Although, in what way, I'm not sure..."

"Cut out the quips, laughing boy," Lily grunted. "Or, we'll see how funny you are when you splat against the roof because you weren't paying attention."

"Remember!" the member of the Alysium military who had come along with them up in the hovercraft. "It's only a short jump, so brace for quick impact."

"You know, we have rappelled before," Sandy replied. "It's just like falling off a wall. Quite literally."

"All we need to do now is wait for the signal..." Lily said, impatiently. "Anyone else wish that those two hurry up?"

"I'm sure that the sewer system is immensely complicated to navigate," Nick commented. "Besides, I didn't see you volunteering for that infiltration pattern."

"Hey, I'm going to be honest," Lily answered. "I have a policy. It involves not having to clean crap out of my fur unless I absolutely have to."

"Good policy," Sandy said. "I have a similar one. Just replace the word have with must."

For a moment, she drummed her fingers against the side of the hover craft before speaking up against.

"And replace the word fur with the obvious substitute," she added. "Skin."

* * *

"Okay, let's see about this," Max muttered, reaching the closed hatch in the basement of the tower. "If they haven't changed the codes, then this should..."

Reaching up, he punched in the series of numbers to open the hatch above him, the red ranger hearing Diana let out an annoyed snort below.

"Bet it turns out to be wrong," she commented, sarcastically. "Because..."

Almost as if it desired to prove her wrong, the hatch immediately swung open, allowing the two cadets to get into the tower as quickly as they could manage.

"You were saying," Max retorted, looking down to his communicator. "Okay, we're in. Give us a minute and then go."

* * *

"I'm going to be honest," Lily said, moving towards the exit door of the hovercraft. "I only heard the word go there!"

"There was some more," Nick told her. "It involved waiting another... Fifty five seconds?"

That was enough to halt the black ranger from jumping out, but not enough to stop her stalking the area near the exit, impatient to get going. All in all, neither Nick nor Sandy were really surprised when, not forty seconds later, she turned and jumped out, leaving them alone in the rear of the hover vehicle.

"Damn her," Nick muttered, he and the blue ranger already on their feet and following her out of the door. "That was just unnecessary."

Just as their companion had predicted, the fall was remarkably short, passing in the space of a few seconds. That was all it took for them to reach the end of their line and swing through a window into the control room, completely taking the hackers by surprise. Looking up as they smashed through the glass, the three cadets quickly realised that they couldn't see the faces of the foes they had been sent in to stop.

Bringing her Cosmo Blaster up as she recovered from the impact, Sandy pulled the trigger twice and shot the furthest one from her in the chest. Seeing the hacker turn to run less than a few seconds after impact, she guessed that he or she was wearing body armour. Already, Lily, a few seconds ahead of her or Nick, was engaging another, hitting the hacker with her Cosmo Baton. Surprising the black ranger, the hacker managed to knock the weapon out of her hand, only for Lily to hit her opponent hard enough to knock him off his feet. Across from her, Nick had just taken his hand off the chest of the opponent he had been fighting, the hacker limply falling to the ground in front of him.

Almost sensing that they had lost the advantage, the remaining three hackers made to flee, only for Diana and Max to come storming in through the only other entrance to the room. Seeing the one that Sandy had shot at earlier, Diana flung herself through the air, moving into a rolling kick which knocked the wounded hacker off their feet and into a wall.

Meanwhile, Max's attention had been drawn to another, the red ranger hurling a barrage of orbs at the face of the closest one. As the mask burst into flames, the hacker scrabbled away at the cloth, trying to remove it. No sooner had he managed it, he was hit by Max, the powerful blow taking him down.

Before Sandy could move after the other two, one of them brought a remote control out from somewhere, hitting an unmarked button on it, before both of them began to run from the room. Having been caught in the process of using their CED's to capture those that they had defeated, none of the cadets were currently in a position to chase them.

* * *

"Suppose four out of six isn't a bad start," Diana commented, as she looked down at the metal cards. "Guess we just have to see if they'll show their heads again."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Lily remarked, stood by the door, taking deep breaths to inhale the air. "I can smell them."

"That's a possible lead then," Max said, gesturing at the black and yellow rangers. "You two, get after them. You find them, call for backup."

"We'll get right on it," Diana answered, as she and Lily headed out of the chamber, leaving the other three cadets alone. "They're not going to be able to hide for long."

Across from them, the blue ranger wasn't listening, having noticed something out of place. Atop one of the monitors, she could see a small grey box, a flashing gold light atop the item.

"Errr... Guys?" she asked, moving a step closer. "Think we might still have a problem. What does that look like to you?"

"Crappy piece of plastic with a cheap light?" Nick suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "Either way..."

"It's not," Sandy replied, giving him a dirty look. "I've heard about these things, but never seen them. That thing there is a SmartVirus in its most physical form. Just by being in contact with those monitors, it's uploading a virus into the system. This means that they've won, unless we act fast."

"How fast?" Max asked, before quickly adding an afterthought. "Maybe you shouldn't touch it..."

"I can get rid of it!" Sandy insisted, looking at the grey box atop the monitor. "Just give me a few moments..."

Springing forward, she pulled it up off the monitor, feeling a mild electrical surge race up through her system as she did so. Brushing it off, she tossed the box to the ground, before stamping on it, sending her full weight crushing down onto it.

"To do that," she finished, softly. "Anyway, if those two are going to track those remaining hackers down, maybe we should go back to the Night Hawk and let Falco know what's gone down. Maybe even get Doctor Katongo to have a look at the SmartVirus, see if he can formulate some sort of antidote for their defense system."

"Sounds like a plan," Max commented, the three of them already moving towards the exit. "Just one question. What the hell is a SmartVirus?"  
"It's a hyper intelligent virus that adapts to both its surroundings and any attempt to kill it," Sandy answered, raising an arm up to wipe some sweat from her face. "Unless you know what you're doing, it's really difficult to deal with. Each one is unique, so something that works in destroying one of them might not work on another."

"Sounds like it," Nick remarked. "About them being tough to kill. How do you know so much about them?"

"Read up on them a few months ago," Sandy answered. "Just in case."

* * *

"Hey, guys," Doctor Katongo said, sticking his head out of the door as the three cadets walked by on their way to speak to Falco. "Just thought that I'd give you a heads up. The modifications onto the Cosmo Fighters that were set aside for you have been completed. They've also been fitted with Hyper Warp engines, meaning that you can call on them at any time."

"Well, that's cool," Nick said, grinning. "Maybe we can test them out when Diana and Lily discover where those hackers fled to. Blast them in their hideout."

"I doubt that this was their intended purpose when they were signed over to us," Sandy muttered, wiping her brow. "Wow, it's warm in here."

"Hey, Doc," Max said, holding out the sealed case that they had locked the remains of the SmartVirus in. "We brought this back. Remains of a SmartVirus box, can you work out an antidote to it?"

"Suppose I might be able to," Doctor Katongo answered, taking it from the red ranger. "Good mission?"

"We're not done yet," Nick answered. "We just came back up here to update Falco and give you this. We're going back down shortly."

"Best not keep him waiting then," the Psorian remarked, turning to go back into his room. "Bye."

* * *

"So, Cadet Camerons and Yushaa are currently in pursuit of the hackers?" Falco asked, he and Payne stood outside his office to speak with the rangers. "May I ask why it took the three of you to come back up here, deliver a package and update me?"

"Permission to speak openly and honestly, sir?" Max replied, asking the question quickly. "Because..."

"Don't ever do that," the Aerobian Commandant answered. "If you have something to say, answer my question."

"I gave the decision to send those two alone because I felt that a larger chasing party would be more likely to be noticed. Cadet Yushaa had to go because she has that great sense of smell, and I felt that Cadet Camerons had that experience of the sewers."

"You assume that they went out through the sewers?" Falco asked. "On what basis?"

"That was the way that they came in, it was the only way out that wasn't blocked off by Captain Sang Tie's forces."

"Okay, I see," Falco replied. "What of the SmartVirus? I hope that you followed the correct protocol when bringing it on board. I don't want my ship infected by..."

"It was dismantled," Sandy answered, her voice suddenly sounding hoarser than it had done earlier. "Violently. And it's sealed away. We gave it to Doctor Katongo to examine."

"I see," he replied. "If that's all, then you better get back down to meet back up with your fellow cadets. Dismissed."

At his words, Max, Sandy and Nick turned to leave, the blue ranger breathing heavily for a few moments, before leaning over against the wall.

"Guys," she croaked, gasping for breath. In the past few minutes, all the colour had slowly been draining out of her skin, giving her a pale appearance. "Just give me a moment."

"You okay?" Nick asked, noticing her suddenly pasty complexion. "You look terrible."

"Thanks for that," she groaned. "I feel strange. Really strange."

"Strange in what way?" Max asked, hoping for a more clear answer from her. "Sandy? In what way?"

"I feel strange," the blue ranger repeated, her visible eye suddenly starting to twitch wildly. "That's not..."

That was when she collapsed, hitting the ground with a tremendous crash, the impact making the nearby Payne jump. He hadn't expected the sound to ring out like it had, having had his back turned.

"Damnit, she's down!" Max yelled, dropping to his knees to check on her. Reaching out a hand, he lightly tapped her cheek, checking to see if she was conscious. What he did realise was that she was holding a temperature, her skin almost on fire under his touch. "Think we need some medical attention here!"

"Let's get her to the medical bay," Nick said, both he and Max making to try and pick her up. They managed to get her about six inches off the ground, before having to set her unconscious body down again, both of them gasping for breath.

"Damn, she's heavier than she looks," the green ranger commented. "What the heck's that all about?"

"Move aside!"

Pushing them both aside, Falco strode onto the scene, managing to do what the two cadets had been unable to, sweeping the unconscious blue ranger up in both arms. Even though he managed to do it, the look of exertion on his face suggested that he agreed with their opinion that she was heavier than she appeared to be on the surface.

"Tell Evelyn to get the medical bay ready," the Aerobian barked at Payne, his first mate already making to leave, before his attention turned to the two cadets. "What are you two stood around for?"

* * *

"Hmmm..." Evelyn remarked, looking at some medical scans that she had taken from Sandy's comatose form. "That's interesting. And, is also congruent with her medical records. Yes, it all makes sense now."

"What does?" Max asked, desperate for an answer. "What's wrong with her."

"I'm surprised that you didn't work it out sooner," the medic continued. "I mean, when you think about it, it's so obvious. I think you should be ashamed that you didn't work it out sooner."

"What's so obvious?" Nick wondered, trying to get the answer out of her. "Enlighten us."

"You mean you don't know?" Evelyn asked, giving them a surprised look. "How can you not know, it's just..."

"Evelyn!" Falco barked. "Rather than giving us a lot of abject prattling, give us a diagnosis of her condition!"

"Ah..." she said, softly. "Sorry about that. Based on your accounts from what happened down on Alysium, I believe that she's been affected by a virus. The same virus that was being uploaded into the defense system."

"I'm sorry, are you out of your mind?" Max asked, unable to believe the excuse that he had just been given. "I touched that thing and I don't feel any different."

"Beg the pardon, Cadet Redwood, but you don't have the same physiology of Cadet Garcia," Evelyn replied, smugly. "Which means that you wouldn't be affected by it."

"What do you mean the same physiology as her?" Nick asked, surprised. "Are you saying that she's an android?"

"Of course not," Evelyn answered, shaking her head in bemusement. "That would be implausible."

"So, then what's your point?" Max demanded. "Assuming that you have one..."

"According to Cadet Garcia's medical records, she was in quite a severe accident several years ago," Evelyn answered. "In past times, she would have failed to survive it. However, by the use of advanced medical and mechanical advances, she has made a full recovery and returned to a regular life."

"Mechanical advances?" Nick asked, surprised. "So, wait, what?"

"I don't get it," the red ranger added, before Falco spoke up, an air of resignation in his voice.

"She's a cyborg," he said, dryly. "A human who has been enhanced with advanced mechanical parts."

"Yeah, we know what a cyborg is," Nick replied, before reconsidering. "Just not in that awful description that we were given there."

"Her four limbs are made of a light weight but extremely durable metal compound, while her left eye is a cybernetic one. Nice work on it, the one who did it must be very proud..." Evelyn offered. "By the way, I resent your description of my semi medical terminology which I used for your benefit."

* * *

"Where could those hackers have got to?" Diana grumbled, as she and Lily continued to move through the sewers, the black ranger still sniffing the air. "This is just inconsiderate."

"What's inconsiderate is that I'm breaking one of my core rules," Lily said, angrily. "And, you think this place smells bad to you? Try having my sense of smell."

"But, you can still smell the hackers, right?"

"Of course," she answered, tapping her nose. "You have no faith in me and my sense of smell."

"Is it really that good?" the yellow ranger asked, surprised. "Just give me a second..."

Pausing for a moment, she began to focus before transforming into an exact replica of Lily, much to the irritation of the black ranger.

"Don't do that," she said. "Ever. I know where you sleep."

Not saying anything, Diana quickly shifted back into her regular form, scratching her neck as a look of discomfort passed across her face.

"Thanks for that," she remarked, petulantly. "My skin itches now."

"Told you that you shouldn't have done it," Lily retorted, already moving again, leaving the yellow ranger having to try and catch up with her.

"Although, I will say that I agree with you," Diana said. "That's one great nose. Could smell everything around here. I could smell you... That was interesting."

* * *

"The reason that she's appearing so much heavier than normal is that the virus is moving through her system, it's making that normally lightweight metal heavy," Doctor Katongo remarked, looking at some more medical scans of the stricken cadet. "And, because of her physiology, flesh and metal combined, the SmartVirus is mutating in her system. It's affecting her living parts now. That has to be worrying."

"Can you help her?" Max asked, looking at both Doctor Katongo and Evelyn. "There has to be something that you can do."

"Of course there is," the Psorian answered. "It's all a case of finding the way of killing the virus."

"Yeah, but a SmartVirus is hard to kill," Nick pointed out. "How do you intend to do that in time?"

"Trust me," the Psorian said, winking across at them. "I'm a Doctor."

"Not one of medicine," Nick started to say, before being cut off by Falco, the Aerobian's voice blanking him out.

"With that in mind, I suggest that you leave these two to work things out for themselves," he said. "In the meantime, I'm ordering you to go back down and meet back up with Camerons and Yushaa. See how they are progressing in their task."

"Yes sir!" both cadets replied, throwing salutes before leaving the medical bay.

* * *

"I tell you," Chebek said, raising his voice. "A Vypra would beat a Zangovian in a fight hands down."

"Vypra's don't have hands, moron!" Blister argued. "At the very least, it'd have to wrap itself around it..."

"Vypra's don't have hands?" Chebek replied, incredulous. "You're thinking of that sub species. Vypra's do have hands."

"I'm talking about the sub species, you cretinous pile of..." Blister began. "It'd have to wrap itself around a Zangovian's throat, and then the Zangovian would slit it's throat, have a bath in the blood before going out in brand new shoes made from its skin."

"You're having a laugh!" Chebek screamed. "How many Zangovian's have you ever seen wear shoes?"

"There's a first time for everything," Blister retorted, before the two of them heard a cough. Looking around, they saw Max and Nick stood behind them, both cadets surprised by the intensity of the argument that was going on.

"Zangovians," Max said, quickly. "All the way."

* * *

"Take it you got our message?"

Running over in a crouched position, Max and Nick finally made their way over to where Diana and Lily were waiting for them, stood behind a white painted cone shaped building. All around them, there were several exact replicas of the structure they were hiding behind, apart from one across the road which was at least twice as large.

"Nah, we go lost a few minutes ago," Nick replied, sarcastically. "We're still wandering around lost in a daze."

"Sounds about normal for you then," Lily remarked, before gesturing to the large building across the street. "That's where they went."

"Interesting that they went for the big one," Max commented. "Normally, you'd expect them to go hide in one of the thousands of identical ones..."

"Which might be why they went for the big one," Diana said, before she finally noticed something was off with the returning cadets. "Where's Sandy?"

"Picked up a computer virus," Nick answered, not a trace of humour in his voice. "Right. Get this..."

* * *

"This is the thing about a SmartVirus," Doctor Katongo remarked, looking through the microscope as he spoke. "Because each one is unique, there's no common anti-virus to stop it. However, if you look at the cellular makeup of it, then you can work out a plan of action. There's always some small trace in there that makes it unique, that makes it different to every other. If you can find that, it holds the answer to how you can neutralise it."

"You work faster when you speak aloud?" Payne wondered, the Felaine stood leaning against the back wall of the medical bay. "Because..."

"I do actually," the Psorian answered, the first mate not sure if he was joking or not. "Thanks for noticing."

"It's not contagious, is it?" Falco asked, stood near Payne. "Since you said it mutated to attack humans..."

"You're not human, are you?" Doctor Katongo replied, dryly. "There's no possible way that it could mutate into attacking a Psorian, an Aerobian or a Felaine. That said, I wouldn't drag the chef in here, but that's just common sense."

"What about when he comes to collect the ingredients for his special soup?" Payne quipped, jerking his head over at the small makeshift mortuary across from them. "Then again, I don't think anyone's been killed in action lately, so..."

"Payne, cut the jokes!" Falco warned. "That's not funny."

* * *

"That's awful," Diana commented, shaking her head, sadly. "I think it's just one more reason to take those hackers in. Also, if anyone wants to make an excessive use of force..."

"Not necessary," Max pointed out, before the yellow ranger shot him a disgruntled look.

"You agree with what happened to Sandy?" she demanded. "Time to get even. We're a team, an attack on one of us is an attack on us all."

"I'm with her," Lily remarked, cracking her knuckles. "Let's go!"

With that, the black ranger got to her feet and started to stride across towards the hideout, a sadistic smirk passing across her face as she did so.

"Maybe we should put her on a leash," Nick remarked. "Either that, or follow her."

"Don't think that she'd take too kindly to that," Max said, getting up. "I suggest following her. If nothing else, the direct approach might turn out to work."

"Nah, it's far too simple to be fool proof," Diana remarked. "It's going to go wrong somehow."

* * *

"This isn't going to work," Evelyn remarked, dropping the scans that she had been consulting to the table. "It's just too dangerous to try it out."

"Maybe a test sample?" Doctor Katongo asked. "Like I said, I'm not an expert in medicine. That's more an amateur hobby of mine. I'm just here because she's part machine. That does happen to be my area of expertise. Although her limbs are mainly metal, there are some incredibly durable circuits and the like in them that are corrupted. That has to be something that..."

"Sorry, I'm more concerned in making sure that she lives through this, rather than the cybernetics of the bigger picture," Evelyn said, sarcastically. "This isn't..."

"Can you two stop arguing?"

Although the voice was barely a whisper, both of them heard the patient speak, the blue ranger trying to sit up on the bed where she was laid.

"Ah..." Doctor Katongo remarked. "This is probably going to help matters much."

"How do you feel?" Evelyn asked, moving over to check on her patient. "Better? Obviously since you've come around..."

"Could do with some pain killers," Sandy croaked. "But..."

"See, I knew she'd come around of her own accord," Doctor Katongo remarked, rubbing his hands together. "Now, where do we go from here?"

* * *

"Okay, let's ranger up and get them," Lily muttered, the four cadets having made their way to the living areas of the building, the upper floors being the target. In the lower areas, they had just seen something large covered by a white plastic sheet that hid whatever it was from view. Out of curiosity, Max had tapped it to discover that it was metal, but apart from that they weren't interested.

"I've got no argument with that," Nick commented. "Ready?"

"Cosmosis!"

As the four shouts rang out simultaneously, signalling the transformation into their ranger suits, Lily extended out a booted foot and kicked the door in...

... Only for an extremely loud flash, a mix of light and sound, to throw them back out of the room. Before they could recover, the remaining two hackers came racing out of their hideout to engage them in combat. Grunting in pain as he was hit in the stomach, Max swiped out at the hacker who had just attacked him, only for the masked figure to dodge and kick him back in retaliation. Taking a step out of the way, the enemy hacker dodged an attack from Nick, grabbing the green ranger by the leg and hurling him against the wall.

Meanwhile, the other hacker was fighting Lily and Diana, easily matching both of them despite being outnumbered. As the black ranger brought her Cosmo Baton down to try and beat him to the ground, the hacker easily evaded the attack and kicked Lily in the back to send her to her knees. At the same time, Diana grabbed the hacker's arm and tried to flip her opponent down to neutralise them, only for the attack to be quickly reversed on her. Hitting the ground, the yellow ranger brought up her Cosmo Blaster to try and shoot the hacker from below. Her attack was wilder than she might have expected, the laser blast only hitting the opponent in the shoulder, but it was enough to drive them away from her.

Then, at the same time, the two hackers both started to run downstairs towards the big metal thing that was hidden under the plastic sheets, leaving the four rangers in their wake.

"Anyone else suddenly really annoyed?" Lily asked, picking herself up. "Or, is it just me?"

* * *

"That's better," Sandy said, feeling the relief pass through her body. "At least I can move freely now."

"I wouldn't recommend it," Evelyn remarked. "They are called pain killers for a reason. There's still something wrong with you..."

"Which is nothing that we can remedy right now," Doctor Katongo argued. "Believe me. But, you've been helpful. We're going to work on it right now, but we'll try to get it finished as quickly as possible."

"In that case, I'm going down to help the others out," Sandy said, getting out of bed. "I'm discharging myself."

"Oh really?" Evelyn demanded. "It's not the best idea..."

"If I'm going to be waiting around for this mythical cure, I might as well make myself useful," the blue ranger argued. "At least I can get revenge on those that did this to me. I'll just have to be quick..."

"Obviously I can't tell you what to do," Evelyn said. "What do I know, it's not like I'm a medical officer or anything. Oh, wait a second..."

"That pain killer compound should be good for a few hours," Doctor Katongo remarked. "I'd suggest that you don't take too long."

"Your choice," Evelyn muttered, darkly. "I'm absolving myself of any blame here. It's an accident waiting to happen."

Ignoring her, Sandy quickly started to get dressed, pulling on a black tanktop and a pair of blue jeans before running from the room.

"At least try to be helpful," Evelyn said, looking at Doctor Katongo. "Are you really sure that was the smartest thing you could have done?"

"Yes."

* * *

"Hey!"

Looking over to where the shout had come from, Chebek and Blister saw Sandy walking across towards them, gesturing down at the hover bike that lay across the engine room.

"Weren't you supposed to be dead?" Blister wondered. "Or, is our information inaccurate?"

"Your brain's the thing that's inaccurate," Chebek muttered. "She's clearly not dead. Unless she's a cyber-zombie."

"Nah, you can tell cyber-zombie's from a mile off," Blister pointed out. "I think she's a ghost. Either that or she encountered Death but got away."

"You can't get away from Death, you fool!" Chebek exclaimed. "What was she going to do? Hit him over with a metal pipe and run away?"

"I like the idea of the running away part, but a metal pipe is just ridiculous," Blister said. "I think she was more likely to slam her knee into his... Face."

"As enlightening as this is," Sandy interrupted. "Can I borrow this hover bike to get down to the planet?"

"Oh yeah, sure," Chebek said. "It's fine."

"Don't dip out on it like that!" Blister interrupted. "Who even says that a knee to the face of Death would be an effective tactic? How is that any different to what you said? And, what even makes you think that Death is a male?"

"You think Death's a lady?" Chebek asked, rolling his eyes. "I bet he's just itching for you to die so he can pay you a visit now."

Ignoring them, Sandy morphed into her ranger suit and pulled the hover bike up, getting ready for her departure down to Alysium...

* * *

"Where have those two got to?" Max wondered, as the four morphed cadets stood outside the building, having followed the two hackers outside. "We were right behind them, they surely can't have got that far..."

"They definitely came outside, right?" Diana asked, suddenly sounding unsure. "Because, if they're still in there..."

As if to answer her question, there was a tremendous roar from the warehouse behind them, followed by the sounds of several crashes. Looking around, the rangers saw something big and heavy starting to force its way through the wall, shattering the material as if it was glass.

"Uh oh..." Nick muttered. "We're in trouble."

"Guys!"

Looking up to the fresh interruption, they saw the morphed Sandy swoop down on the borrowed hover bike, jumping off to reunite with them.

"Looks who's feeling better!" Lily commented, dryly. "Knew the way that those two were describing it was over the top."  
"Errr... Guys?" Diana asked, seeing that the face of the threat they now had to face had been uncovered, the purpose of the large metal object that had been in the building now apparent. "We have a problem."

It looked like a large metal Dodrio, albeit one with only one head. Rather than three heads, it had four arms and had been coloured a golden shade that reflected the sunlight. It also had three skinny bird-like legs. Even from where they were stood, the five rangers immediately realised that the two hackers were probably piloting the mechanoid that stood in front of them.

"That's one ugly robot!" Nick said. "How are we supposed to fight that?"

"Haven't you worked that out yet?" Sandy asked, glancing over at him. "There's only one possible way to fight a mechanoid like that."

"It's time to call in the Cosmo Fighters!" Max exclaimed. "Let's get this on!"

* * *

High above them, five large single pilot ships came swooping down, each of them bearing a unique decal design, although each of them was a thick triangular shape with a rectangular part at the rear which stuck out. At the front part of the triangular fighter, there was a cockpit, each one containing a transportation system which brought the relevant ranger appearing into it.

"Cosmo Fighter One," Max said, looking at his controls. He could see the name on a screen next to him, visible in large red letter on a black background. Outside, his Cosmo Fighter had red decals across the wings, tail and body.

"I've got Cosmo Fighter Two," Sandy remarked, seeing the name of her Cosmo Fighter in blue letters on a white background. The decorations on the outside were blue, while the fighter was slightly smaller than Max's.

"Cosmo Fighter Three is ready to go hunting," Lily commented, settling down in her entirely black vehicle, the controls humming into life around her. "Let's get this on."

"Cosmo Fighter Four is awesome," Nick remarked, looking down at a digital image of his black and green coloured vehicle, the name of his fighter visible on a black screen in bright green letters. "Just as I thought it would be."

"And I'm ready in Cosmo Fighter Five," Diana added, checking some of her controls. Like the ranger colour she wore, the exterior design of the mostly triangular shaped ship was yellow, to go with the black. "What's next."

"Unlike most other Cosmo Fighters," Doctor Katongo said, through the communication system. "These have been modified to aid you in ways that the Poké Rangers of old needed. There should be a large button marked in your ranger colour below the controls. Push it. This is the morph drive. Get used to it, because you're going to become very familiar with it."

"Hearing you loud and clear, Doc," Max replied, making to push the red button in front of him. "Activating morph drive!"

* * *

Pushing the button, each of the five Cosmo Fighters began to transform, their structure shifting into one that resembled a Pokémon. Max's Cosmo Fighter looked like an Infernape, Sandy's resembled a Porygon, Lily's was a Mightyena, Nick's had transformed into a Grovyle, while Diana's had become a Ditto.

"What I said earlier about this being awesome..." Nick started to say. "Times that by a hundred thousand."

"Time to take that mechanoid to the scrap heap!" Sandy yelled, moving her mechanical Porygon forward. "Psybeam!"

Responding to her commands, a rainbow coloured beam of energy erupted from the mouth of the Porygon, hitting the mechanoid in the chest and sending it staggering back.

"Anyone else not worried about collateral damage?" Lily laughed, sending her Mightyena bounding towards the threat, directing it into clamping its jaws onto the arm of the mechanoid. The two hackers inside the robot were both quickly frustrated in their attempts to throw her off, the Mightyena holding on tight.

"Wonder what I can do?" Diana asked, sending her Ditto quivering across the ground towards the enemy robot. "Let's see..."

Hitting a button, the right and left sides of the Ditto Zord shot out and crashed into the mechanoid, knocking it over. Inside, the hackers both began to feel worried, wondering if their defeat was inevitable.

"Cool, a Slam attack," the yellow ranger muttered. "I like. I like a lot."

"Make room for us!" Max yelled, as he and Nick directed their Zords on over towards the fallen mechanoid. "Fire Punch!"

"Leaf Blade!" Nick added, the mechanical Infernape and Grovyle both unleashing their attacks into the mechanoid, the sheer joint power of the two attacks overloading the robot and destroying it in an explosion of fire and noise.

"Oh yeah!" Diana yelled. "That's the way to do things!

"Time to get those guys into confinement, and we can go back to the Night Hawk," Sandy muttered, weakly. "Hopefully, there'll be some results by now."

* * *

"And, the anti-virus," Evelyn said, finishing injecting the brown coloured liquid into Sandy's arm. "Take a shot every six hours for the next four or five days and you should soon feel back to normal."

"Thanks," the blue ranger answered, her voice still a little hoarse. "It's good to be slowly getting back to normal."

That was when the other four cadets came into the room, Nick holding a datapad out in front of him, which he handed to Sandy.

"Check it out, Robocop," he said, grinning. "We made the front page news on Alysium."

"Really?" she asked, glancing down at it. "Earlier today, the hacker gang known exclusively as Xento was removed from commission by a team of Cosmo Force cadets. None of the cadets in question could be reached for comment, but Captain Sang Tie of the 504th regiment was quick to offer his gratitude to them in what he called an urgent and tricky threat to the peace and the harmony of Alysium. While some of called into question the tactics that were used, tactics that resulted in a brief battle between giant mechanoids..."

"Yeah, ignore the rest of it," Lily sneered, rolling her eyes. "That's just complaints because we did our job."

"How you feeling?" Max asked, looking at the blue ranger. "Better? Worse? No different?"

"It'll be a few hours," she answered. "Just... I don't want to talk about the accident."

"What accident?" Diana wondered, before flinching as she realised what she had just said. Fortunately for her, Sandy brushed it away, ignoring it before speaking up.

"Remember that accident I was in a few years ago?" she asked, softly. "All I'm going to say is that I nearly died. But, I got better. Who cares how it happened."

"Hey, I'm happy not to make an issue of it," Nick commented. "Who cares that you're a Cyborg. That's pretty cool, really."

"Here's to Sandy!" Lily offered, miming the gesture of raising a glass. "For one reason or another..."

"Is that about as sincere as you're going to get?" Diana wondered, raising an eyebrow at the black ranger in surprise.

"Yep. Take it or leave it."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Bit of an abrupt ending, but what can you do.**

**Anyway, that's the fourth episode. Hope that you enjoyed it, it introduced both the crew and the Zords. But, no Megazord yet. It was cut for length...**

**As always, I implore you to ignore the science. Unless it makes sense. Then don't.**

**If nothing else, it proves that these rangers have a stack of secrets between them.**

**Okay, so thanks for the reviews. They are all appreciated. A lot.**

**The next one is entitled Justice and the preview is below.**

**I think that's about all, so thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Five, Justice, preview.**

**Max: Ah, Ralnick...**

**Lily: You're going to tell me what I need to know.**

**Sandy: Anyone seen her anywhere?**

**?: You're an obstacle against everything that I stand for.**

**Lily: I'm going to make the rest of your very short life a living hell.**

**?: My mission is simple. Eliminate Lily Yushaa...**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	5. Justice

Chapter Five. Justice.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_Having arrived on the Night Hawk, the new rangers were introduced to the crew and saw the ship. Before arriving at Ralnick, they were hailed by an urgent message from the planet Alysium. After being sent down by Falco, they met up with Captain Sang Tie who told them of his problem with a group of hackers. It took them no time to track them down, although they were too late to stop them from pumping a virus into the system, a virus that infected Sandy. Later, Max and Nick discovered that she was a Cyborg. Fortunately, she managed to pull through and help the other rangers finish off the hackers with their Cosmo Fighters, before finally getting the antidote..._

_

* * *

_

Behind her, the burst of laser fire raked through the air, narrowly missing her. Had she not stepped back, it might well have hit her in the chest, a possible kill shot. Jerking her Cosmo Blaster up, she fired three times in the direction where the blast had come from, none of them even going close to hitting the target.

She preferred hand to hand combat and melee weapons over blasters. Yet, she thought, a savage grin moving across her face, needs must.

Seeing a flash in the distance, she hurled herself to the ground, another blast sailing over her head. This wasn't working, she realised, already turning to run. Since her attacker wasn't going to give up, her only option was to try and defeat her. Yet at this range, that wasn't a possibility, meaning she'd have to re-take the advantage somehow.

"If I ever see another one of these things again..." she muttered, angrily. "I'm going to skin it, cook it and..."

Another shot crashed through the air, kicking up the earth close to her. If there was one saving grace in the whole thing, it was that Darzelle possibly wasn't the greatest shot out there. Unless...

That was when she heard a click above her, the sound of an automatic blaster pistol being readied. Craning her head around, Lily saw the Justivale stood above her, the weapon in her hands aimed at her head.

"You lose," she said, simply. "Time to put your reign of terror to an end."

Still gasping for breath, Lily saw the finger tighten across the trigger...

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

One day earlier...

* * *

_"Let me out! Let me out! I'll kill you all when I get out of here!"_

_Thrashing at the restraints, she was desperate to break free. If anger alone fuelled her strength, she would have been gone. Yet, they'd locked her up in this room, drugged her and strapped her to the bed to stop her from escaping._

_Still furious, an outraged howl erupted from her jaws, cutting through the silence of the room. Deep down, she knew that nobody was going to hear her, the rooms were sound proofed. The only way that anyone knew what was going on, was the security observation feed in the top corner of the room, too high up for anyone to disable it._

_Anyone who wasn't her. _

_Swallowing quickly, she began to swirl the toxic substance around in her mouth, the foul taste mixed in with her saliva. Careful not to swallow any, it wasn't that it would kill her, it was that it tasted horrible, she took aim and spat at the camera. Maybe if the feed died, someone would come, giving her a chance to escape..._

_

* * *

_

"Hey, wake up!"

Rolling over in her bed, Lily saw Sandy sticking her head into the room, calling to her to get her up.

"What do you want?" she demanded, sitting up to try and further the impression that she was interested in what the blue ranger had to say. "It's only..."

"Yeah, we're nearly at Ralnick," Sandy said. "Falco wants everyone in the main briefing room in the next few minutes. Just thought I'd give you a warning. Also, I was on my way to the shower..."

"Thanks for that," the black ranger muttered, climbing out of bed to look for some clothes. "Although, not for using the shower."

"Hey, needs must," Sandy retorted. "You seen Diana anywhere, or..."  
"Not unless she's doing an impression of a sheet," Lily said, glancing over at the other empty bed in the room. "Which is always possible."

* * *

"So, that's my argument!" Blister exclaimed. "There. What are you going to do about it?"

"Same as what I always do when you're wrong," Chebek shot back. "Grin smugly at you and feel a wave of pity for your..."

"Oh, is that your smug grin?" Blister asked. "Seriously, I can't tell, what with you being so ugly and all. All your faces look the same."

"That's what you say," Chebek commented. "The words smoke, fire and kettle spring to mind."

"What?"

"That's the smoke telling the fire that it's making the kettle black," Chebek replied. "Either that, or something along those lines."

"That makes no sense!" Blister exclaimed. "So there!"

"Neither does anything you've ever said at any point in history," the Charian retorted. "Although, one of them is about to come back and bite you..."

From behind the Typhig, a large white skeletal hand clamped down on his shoulder, Blister turning to see a huge figure wearing a long black cloak which hid his face from view, stood behind him.

"Blister!" the figure said, in a haunting voice. "I hear you've been saying some interesting things about me..."

"Errr... No," Blister started to protest, before being interrupted.

"If you're going to insult Death, at least do it to my face," the figure continued, patting the Typhig on the side of the face. "Then, you will know the true meaning of suffering..."

"No, it wasn't me!" Blister yelled, suddenly looking scared. "He goaded me, I was just going along. Why don't you threaten him..."

"He's the one who called me," Death replied, reaching up to grab the rim of his cloak. "Saying that you had been casting aspersions about me and what I am..."

"Don't kill me!" Blister wailed, dropping to his knees. "I'm just an innocent bystander. I'm misunderstood. Really, I am! Please!"  
"Very well, Blister," Death said, softly. "I forgive you, on the condition that you listen to my next few words."

With that, the figure yanked the cloak away, to reveal Diana underneath. As the two engineers watched, she quickly shrunk back to her normal size and returned her hand to its normal appearance, rather than the skeletal appearance it had been before.

"Fooled you," she laughed. "Nice idea, Chebek."

As his friend joined in the laughter, Blister realised that it had all been a joke, the act of trickery forcing him to turn away and storm further into the engine room.

"That was excellent," Chebek remarked, smiling at her. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," she replied, tossing him the cloak. "If you'll excuse me, I now have somewhere to be."

* * *

"Ah, Ralnick..." Max said, looking down at the light green coloured planet below them with indifference. "I know absolutely nothing about you."

"Which is why we're having the usual briefing," Falco remarked, glancing around the room. He could see Nick, Diana and Lily, the black and yellow rangers having arrived at the same time as each other. The green ranger had made it here first, shortly followed by Max. That just left...

"Sorry I'm late," Sandy said, darting into the room before the doors closed. "Had a little trouble with the water in the showers. They wouldn't switch off."

"Well, now that we're all here," the Aerobian Commandant said, sarcastically. "What do the five of you know about Ralnick?"

"Apart from a few settlements, the majority of it is swamp," Sandy offered, quickly moving back into the action. "Swamp and jungle. None of the settlements are particularly large, it's almost a polar opposite to Alysium."

"Nice to see that despite being late, you can at least make a contribution, Cadet Garcia," Falco commented. "Anything else?"

"Only about the enforcement system," Lily offered. "They don't have an army, there's very few policing operatives on the planet. Mainly, they hang about the shipping docks to protect the only real industry of importing and exporting the planet has."

"There's no tax system," Nick said. "Which is why that happens. And, I remember that we're going there to check out a possible sighting of Oblivings. That right?"

"Correct, Mr. Miele," Techno 9 remarked. "A dock worker by the name of Stethen Urgiy spotted one. By the time anyone investigated it, it was long gone. We have reason to believe Mr Urgiy knows more than he's letting on."

"The task is to find him and interrogate him," Falco said. "However, no uniforms. He sees Cosmo Force coming from him, he might run. I want you down there in plain clothes as soon as we reach the shuttle range."  
"Why might he run?" Diana asked, surprised. "He got something to hide?"

"He served a stint in Acathria a few years ago for theft of some expensive cargo," Techno 9 replied. "It's not a stretch to believe he might still harbour a grudge. Or a fear."

"As long as he doesn't see you coming, that's the main thing," Falco said. "The reason I want no uniforms. Once you get close enough to him, you shouldn't have a problem taking him in for questioning. Before you leave, you'll be shown a holographic image of him to memorise."

* * *

"Right, picture this okay," Chebek said, raising both hands to make his point. "There's a sandwich and..."

"I'm still not talking to you," Blister retorted. "Apart from that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that."

As he carried on speaking, the five cadets came down into the engine rooms to go towards the shuttle, Nick raising his voice to be heard.

"Seems that the shuttle might get a bit cumbersome before long," the green ranger said. "Maybe we should get some sort of hover bikes, like what you had a few days ago."

His question had been directed at Sandy, forcing the blue ranger into a shrug, before she answered him.

"That wasn't mine though," she said. "I just borrowed it from those guys."

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Diana called, waving over at the still arguing Chebek and Blister. "Everything okay?"

"Drop dead!" Blister shouted back, still grumpy. "Apart from that, I'm not talking to any of you. Apart from that. Or that. And that. And that..."

"Anyone else feel really aggrieved by the loss of conversation?" Lily asked. "Anyone else think that they might throw it all in with grief, because the engineers aren't going to lower themselves to speak to us?"

"Hey, I'll still speak to you," Chebek said. "Just he's in a bit of a mood."

"Don't you think I've got the right to be in a bit of a mood?" Blister demanded, sarcastically. "That was a really cruel trick! You hurt my feelings, and that really smarts!"

"Anyone else want to get out of here before it really turns nasty?" Nick wondered, his voice filled with bemusement.

* * *

"Okay, rather than wander around in one suspicious group," Max said, as they walked out of the shuttle. He was wearing his red shirt and jeans, as well as his white sneakers. "We're going to split up and look for Stethen. Anyone got a problem with that?"

"Not really," Diana replied. "Guess we've just got to find him as quickly as possible."

"Well, I didn't think that the plan had changed in the short space of time since Falco sent us down," Nick quipped. "So..."

"Remember, check the offices, the bars, the bazaars around the space port," Sandy said. "He could be anywhere. If you can, even try to get his home address. He might be there."

"Okay, we know what to do," Lily commented, irritably. "Are we going to do this, or just stand around talking about it?"

* * *

"Stethen Urgiy?" Nick asked, looking across at the Collusc, the Gastrodon-like Poké Alien behind the counter of the bazaar that he had walked into. The green ranger's off duty clothes consisted of a green t-shirt, black pants and a blue jacket. "Seen him anywhere?"

"Never heard of him," the Collusc replied. "He's not a regular. I don't recognise..."

"Aha!" Nick exclaimed, jabbing his finger at him. "I never showed you a picture and you say you don't recognise him."

"I don't recognise the name, if you'll let me finish," the shopkeeper answered, giving him a dirty look. "Now, buy something or get out."

* * *

"Hey, I'm looking for Stethen Urgiy," Diana said, as she and Sandy walked into the closest bar to the space port. Both rangers were wearing blue jeans and tank tops, the difference being that Diana's was yellow and Sandy wore a black one underneath a blue shirt. "He been in here lately?"

"Nope," the barman answered. He was a member of the Memiorte race of Poké Aliens, a Mr. Mime-like creature with black skin. "Never heard of him. My memory isn't what it used to be."

"Think he's asking for a bribe," Sandy commented. "They're not subtle like that."

"No, my memory really is bad," the barman replied, not looking like he was lying. "It's all the alcohol fumes. You want to ask that guy over there. He's one of the foremen at the space port. Or, it might be that guy over there. Or, it could be that woman in the corner..."

"We're not going to be done here any time soon, are we?" Diana said, impatiently.

* * *

"Stethen Urgiy?" the Metonian asked. The Poké Alien in front of Max was a Metagross-like creature with red metallic skin and a purple X across his face. "I know that guy, he comes in here every few weeks for some wink wink."

"Some wink wink?" Max replied, surprised. "What sort of wink wink are we talking about? Is this wink wink so wink wink that it's completely wink wink just even to mention this wink wink."

"... Errr... Yeah," the Metonian answered. "I'm not following you."

"Then let's be straight with each other, rather than trying to be intentionally mysterious."

* * *

"Knock knock!"

That was all she said as she kicked the door to the building that the target had lived in wide open. Stepping inside, Lily quickly looked around the three small rooms, finding no sign of him anywhere. Rather than her uniform, she was wearing black jeans with bruised knees, as well as a black jacket that was slightly open, revealing a hint of something orange that she wore beneath. The lack of Stethen Urgiy was something that she found irritating, especially after she'd made the trek over from the offices at the dock, this having been the place where she had been directed.

But, there was something in the air. Throwing her head back, she took a deep breath and tried to pin down the scent, to work out where it had come from.

"Where are you?" she wondered, glancing around. "Where did you go?"

Turning back towards the door, she managed to pick the scent back up, her sensitive nose immediately focusing on the freshest musk that was left in the air. Following it, she was soon out of the door and on the trail of the dock worker.

* * *

It took her all of two hours to find him. For some reason, Stethen Urgiy had felt the need to wander off into the swamps outside the small settlement where they had landed. Whatever he was doing, it was a terrible job at attempting to hide, given that he was stood in plain sight next to a pool of sludge.

"Stethen Urgiy!" she called, approaching him. As he turned, she recognised him from the image that Falco had made them study on the Night Hawk before coming down to the planet. Urgiy was a Krownar, he was a Murkrow-based Poké Alien, his feathers white with red, blue and green stripes across them, at least those that could be seen above his filthy overalls. He also wore a peaked cap which was black, as well as a pair of heavy work boots. Like the two Aerobians she knew, Falco and Golde, he had a pair of stubby wings on his back, although she doubted whether or not they'd be able to get him off the ground.

"Yes?" he asked, immediately looking worried. "That's me. But, what can... What are you...?"

"Want to ask you a few questions," she replied, holding out her badge. "About something you may or may not have seen a few days ago..."

That was when he took her by surprise, spreading his wings to try and escape via the air. Her surprise lasted only a second as she reached out and grabbed him by the leg, pulling him back down to the ground. As he smacked down with a thud, she immediately grabbed him up by the throat and began to speak.

"That was a stupid thing to do," she growled. "Before, I just wanted to ask you a few questions..."

"I don't know anything," he protested, desperately fearful. "About anything. I got my job purely because of the lack of knowledge I have. Or don't have."

"Oblivings," she said, reaching around to the small of her back to pull out a knife. "I'd start thinking if I were you, or I'm going to start cutting little bits off you and feeding them to the things that live in the swamp."

"An Obli-what?" he asked, his eyes growing ever wider with fear. "I don't know what you're saying, I'm just a simple dock worker..."

"You're going to tell me what I need to know," Lily growled, placing the knife against the throat of the dock worker. "Or, I'm going to make the rest of your very short life a living hell. I'm going to show up whenever you least expect me, your family and friends aren't going to be safe from my wrath."

"I don't know anything!" he insisted. "All I saw was a shadow thing coming off a ship from the Stronghold. I don't know where it went..."

Losing her patience, she swept the knife down and raked a shallow cut across his upper body, forcing a scream of pain from him.

"How's your memory now?" she asked, darkly. "Because..."

"Okay okay!" he exclaimed, tears of pain and fear running down his face. "I saw it heading out of the space port, but I didn't follow it. If it had to go anywhere, it was to the living areas or the swamp, I just reported it to the authorities, but they never found anything. Nothing was damaged on the ship, it seemed the best to forget about it!"

"You better not be lying to me," the black ranger warned. "If I find out otherwise, I'll be back for you."

Those words alone were enough to break some of the tension of the confrontation, as Urgiy realised that if she intended to kill him, she wouldn't have said them.

His relief was short lived as she tipped him into the swamp, red fetid muddy water covering his entire body as he went under the surface. When he eventually managed to break back out and start the swim back to the shore, Lily was gone, as if she'd never been there.

* * *

What neither of them saw was the figure in the trees above them, observing the entire scene. A female Mystigar, a Gardevoir-like Poké Alien with blue skin rather than green, while the normally white parts were gold, sat cross legged atop the thick trunk. Watching Urgiy get out of the swamp and start his walk back towards the settlement, she gracefully sprang up to her feet and also began to leave the scene.

* * *

Moving into her makeshift base of operations, the Mystigar moved over to her portable computer console on the simple wooden table and switched it on, the device powered by the strength of her psychic abilities.

"Greetings, Darzelle," the voice from the other end of the communications line said. "How are you this evening."

"Most well," she answered. "I need identification on a picture of someone. Can you get me it as soon as possible?"  
"We can try," the voice answered. "We await the upload."

Bringing the mental picture of Lily into her mind, Darzelle saw an identical image appear on the screen in front of her, only to vanish as it was sent away.

"Running through most of the major galactic databases," the voice of the handler said, softly. "Hold for a moment..."

Rather than let her mind wander, Darzelle instead sat there in silence, reflecting on the Justivale Code. As she was reciting the third verse for the third time, the voice of the handler spoke up to confirm that he had returned.

"We have a hit," he replied. "Pulled her personal files off the Cosmo Force database. They should be on screen very shortly."

Just as he had predicted, the file appeared in front of Darzelle, the Justivale's eyes moving across the details quickly and precisely.

"You caught her doing some illegal?" the handler asked. "Because... She works for Cosmo Force. That's not really the sort of heat that we need..."

"She nearly killed someone for information," Darzelle answered. "Then tried to drown him. Plus, there's always the chance of corruption in Cosmo Force, and if you look at what she was in the past, I sense that this could be the case. As a Justivale, I swore an oath to destroy those that cause pain and suffering throughout the galaxy."

"As always, the choice is yours," the handler replied. "Just remember the possible repercussions of your mission. They could become very complicated indeed..."

"My mission is simple," Darzelle interrupted, looking down at the device. "Eliminate Lily Yushaa. The galaxy will be a better place without her."

* * *

"Anyone seen her anywhere?" Sandy asked, glancing across the room. "Anyone at all?"

"Who?" Nick wondered. "Who you asking about?"

"Lily," the blue ranger replied, tilting her head slightly as she answered. "Who else would I be talking about? In case you haven't noticed, she's not back yet."

After all trying, and failing to track down Stethen, the other four cadets had met back up at the shuttle, reflecting on their collective lack of success.

"Maybe that's why she's not here," Max commented, thoughtfully. "Maybe she got a lead and that's why she's not shown up yet."

"Could at least have called," Diana grumbled. "At least if she was going to be five hours, we could have gone back to the Night Hawk for a bit."

"That's a little unnecesary," Sandy commented. "Maybe I'll go over and get something to eat? Anyone want anything fetching?"

"Nah, I'm good," Nick replied, echoing the replies from both Max and Diana. "Never know, she might show up soon. Then, we can see what Gordon's serving today."

"What do you think about Gordon?" Diana mused. "Think he's any good... Actually, scratch that, anyone else think he's a good cook?"

"Hey!"

Looking around to the sound of the call, the four cadets saw Lily walking across to the shuttle, the black ranger looking fairly annoyed, but she was there.

"Miss me?" she asked. "Sorry I'm late, but he wasn't easy to find."

"Where is he?" Max wondered. "Thought you were supposed to bring him in for questioning..."

"I already did my questioning," the black ranger replied. "Found him in the swamps, didn't seem worth dragging him back here after what little he knew. Just that it left the space port and either went into the swamps or the living areas. In other words, we've wasted our time completely."

"Oh I don't know," Diana said, sarcastically. "I got to threaten a few dock workers after they made some crude comments about myself and Sandy. That was fun."

"Actually, some of the comments were quite flattering as well," Sandy smirked. "Anyway, what now? Head off back to the Night Hawk and..."

"Lily!" Nick said, suddenly straightening up from where he was leaning against the side of the shuttle, his warning drawing the black ranger's attention.

"What is it, meat bag..." she started to say, before his shout rang out.

"Get down!"

Reacting immediately to his warning, she dropped to the ground, hearing the sound of laser fire rip through the space where she had been stood. As the blasts hit the side of the Night Hawk, she turned to see Darzelle, wearing some Mystigar battle armour and carrying a large assault rifle walking towards them.

"Making friends already?" Max quipped, bringing up his Cosmo Blaster. "Okay, hold it right there. Don't move!"

Ignoring him, the Mystigar continued on, still moving on as the four standing cadets all started to fire at her, their shots being reflected by the psychic shields she had erected around her body.

"Crap," Sandy said, lowering her weapon as she realised the futility of trying to break through the defenses. "I vote getting out of here. Fast."

"Okay," Max replied, still firing. "The rest of you get the shuttle fired up. I'll try and hold her back while..."

"Gotcha," Nick said, already getting onto the shuttle, Sandy and Diana quickly following him. For some reason, Lily looked like she wanted to help him out in the fight, but as she stepped forward, the Mystigar pointed a blaster of her own at the black ranger. Pushing her aside, Max watched as the barrage of laser fire crashed through the empty space where she had been.

"She's fixated on you," he warned, still firing at the Mystigar. "Get out of here! That's an order!"

"Hell no," Lily retorted, already firing her Cosmo Blaster at the angered Mystigar. "There's not a way that..."

"That's an order!" he repeated, giving her a furious look. "Get on the shuttle! Now!"

"Try not to get beat too quickly," Lily quickly said, having finally decided to obey him and go towards the shuttle. "Good luck, you're going to need it."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence," Max muttered, noticing that the Mystigar was moving ever closer to him. With her shields still holding up strong, he dropped the Cosmo Blaster into his holster and went for her with his baton. Barely reacting to his attempts to stop her, she calmly brought up a hand and threw him aside with a telekinetic attack, a blast that sent him face first to the ground.

"My quarrel is not with you," she said, stepping past him. "Which is why you aren't going to end up hurt."  
"Good," Max muttered. "That makes me feel so much better about this."

Springing up, he threw out his hands and sent a massive fireball scorching through the air at the back of the Mystigar, the attack wiping out her shields completely. Screeching in anger, she rounded on him to grab him up by the throat, the fury etched on her face.

"You should not have done that," she growled, her grip around his throat tightening. "Now, you are going to live to regret it."

Feeling the pain rush through his body, Max also felt the sinking sensation in his stomach that he was about to die. She was angry enough to kill him here and now, despite his struggles, and he couldn't see any way out of it.

At least until the Mystigar suddenly crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath of her own. Behind her was Nick, the green ranger flexing his fingers as he held out his hand to help Max up.

"Time to go, man," he said, the two rangers already on their feet and into the shuttle before the Mystigar could even move.

By the time she was able to sit up, the shuttle was far away in the distance, having left the planet.

"You're all going to regret this," she muttered, massaging some feeling into her back. Her energy was slowly returning, the sudden loss of her strength a mystery. She assumed that the second human had done it, but how remained a mystery to her.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" Falco bellowed, the full force of his anger directed at Lily. "You were rash and reckless in your actions, and as a result, a Justivale wants to kill you."

"A Justivale?" Max asked, suddenly looking worried. "Oh no... I just attacked a Justivale. I'm so screwed."

"However screwed you think you are, Cadet Redwood, multiply that for the trouble that Cadet Yushaa is now in," Falco said, the volume of his voice going down. "What happened? Why is she after you?"

"I have no idea," Lily replied, shrugging her shoulders. Somehow, she suddenly got the impression that Falco wasn't impressed with her answer.

"With all respect Miss Yushaa, you must have done something," Techno 9 offered. "Justivales don't go after someone for no reason. At least, not regularly."

"What's a Justivale?" Diana asked, suddenly. "I've sort of heard the name somewhere, but I can't place it."

"Hold on," Nick said, looking around at her. "How can you not know about Justivales? We learned about them in the academy."

"Think I was out sick that day," the yellow ranger retorted. "It might have been when I had navy fever."

"Justivales are an elite branch of Mystigar warriors," Techno 9 interrupted, quickly. "They abide by a code to fight crime, injustice and corruption wherever they find it. If you commit such an act in front of one, they're obliged to spend the rest of their days hunting you down with the intention of killing you, or you kill them. However, because of their highly honed abilities, they aren't easy to fight. And, they do not fear death."

"You're not joking about them being tough to take on," Max muttered, rubbing his arm. "Don't want to sound scared, but she's not likely to come after me, is she?"

"I cannot make that assumption, Mr. Redwood," Techno 9 answered. "It varies from Justivale to Justivale. Some are happy to let a defensive attack on them by something that isn't their prey slide, others aren't."

"So, what do we do?" Sandy asked. "About this Justivale problem? If she's going to spend the rest of her life hunting Lily down..."

"We're doing nothing," Falco said, shortly. "This is Cadet Yushaa's problem, it is hers to remedy. I forbid the rest of you from helping her."

"But, sir...!" Max started to exclaim, before being cowed down by a withering glance from the commandant, shutting him up.

"No buts," he said, simply. "Cadet Yushaa, I'm ordering you to go back down to Ralnick and sort this problem out, one way or another."

"You're giving me an order that might get me killed?" Lily asked, incredulously. Apart from that, she looked lost for words, completely shocked by his order.

"And no morphing either," Falco said, bringing a further look of discontent out of the black ranger. "Believe it or not, your powers were given to you to help you do your duties to a much greater degree. Not to settle personal vendettas."

For a moment, silence reigned out in the room as the rangers tried to digest the orders that Falco had just given. Until eventually, Diana spoke up, directing her question at Lily.

"Can I have your personal effects?" she asked, mock seriously. "Think some of your clothes might fit me."

"Nice to see that faith you've got in me," Lily replied, sarcastic at first, before brushing the comment off. "I can take her."

"I hope for your sake you can, Cadet," Falco said, grimly. "Take a hover bike and go down to the surface. Don't come back until you've got the job done."

Unable to hide the infuriated look on her face, Lily turned tail and stormed out of the office, leaving the rest of them alone.

"Sir," Max said, as soon as the door closed behind her. "Are you sure about this?"

"Are you questioning my authority, Cadet Redwood?" Falco demanded. "I wouldn't have given her the task if I didn't believe that she was capable of completing it."

* * *

"Hey there."

Looking around as she sat in the saddle of the hover bike, Lily saw Payne leaning against the entrance to the bay, a smirk on his face.

"What do you want, Payne?" she demanded. "I've got some personal business to attend to and..."

"The Justivale?" Payne asked. "Yeah, I know about that. Just thought I'd swing by and offer you some friendly advice."

"Really?" she asked, suddenly hopeful. "You can tell me how best to fight her?"

"Nah," he replied. "If there was a tried and tested way to defeat them in combat, nobody would fear them. You should have a natural immunity to her telekinetic abilities, so all you have to worry about are her skills in hand to hand, her melee weapons, her gadgets and any sort of blasters that she may employ."

"When you put it like that, it sounds so easy," Lily said, dryly. "How do I find her?"

"That won't be a problem," Payne answered. "She'll find you. You'll have to keep alert, she'll try and hit you when you least expect it. Unfortunately, I can't offer you any more help than that."

"I suppose that it's better than nothing," the black ranger conceded. "Thanks, I guess."

"You better be off before the Commandant starts up again," he said. "Just remember to be careful."

"That really never occurred to me," Lily commented, sarcastically. "But, seriously, thanks again."

"No problem."

Morphing into her ranger suit, the black ranger quickly kicked the bike into action and began to move it towards the airlock, ready to start her flight down to the planet.

* * *

Having abandoned the hover bike at the space port, Lily had chosen to walk down the middle of one of the streets in the living areas of the settlement she was in. Still out of her uniform, the only sign of her authority was the badge, baton and blaster at her waist, the three items a warning to anyone who wasn't the Justivale. Since she hadn't had the chance to catch the smell of the Mystigar at the space port earlier, every strange scent was enough to make her hesitate in worry, a possible threat to her life.

She didn't doubt that she was being watched by the thing that was hunting her. Once, she could have sworn that she had seen the reflection from the scope of laser rifle above her, but before she could home in on it, the thing had vanished.

The attack inevitably came when she reached the end of the road, no civilians for several metres around her. On reflection, she realised that made perfect sense, there was less chance of someone being caught in the crossfire.

That was the thought that swept through her head as the stun grenade dropped to the ground in front of her. She barely had a few seconds to turn and try to hurl herself as far away from it as possible, before it exploded in a wave of light and sound. With her sensitive hearing, it felt louder than it actually was, the blast disorientating her, just as was intended.

Her mind all over the place, Lily wasn't actually sure how much time had passed before she felt the hands of the Justivale grab her by the throat and toss her up into the air, the black ranger landing several feet away in a heap. At least, she thought, her focus was starting to return. Which at least gave her some sort of fighting chance.

Hurling out a fist, she felt it connect with something, her vision slowly returning as the dull pain moved up her arm. She could see that the Mystigar warrior had blocked her attack and was holding her in place. Before she could try and break out, Darzelle kicked her in the stomach and sent her to her knees. Trying to recover, she felt the Justivale hit her in the face, knocking her onto her back.

"Don't suppose we can talk about this," she growled, feeling the taste of blood in her mouth. "Because..."

"There's nothing to talk about," Darzelle replied, softly. Grabbing Lily by the lapel of her jacket, she directed her knee into the black ranger's snout, bright lights exploding across her vision as she felt the pain. "Nothing at all. You're an obstacle against everything I stand for."

Again, the Justivale hit out, only to be surprised as Lily twisted her head aside and evaded the blow. Before Darzelle could shift her weight into another attack, the black ranger struck out with her Cosmo Baton and landed a blow across her face. Momentarily stunned, the Justivale was unable to defend herself as Lily sprang up and hit her with a roundhouse kick, knocking her away from where she was stood.

"Obstacle?" she asked, sarcastically. "That's the best insult you could come up with? Actually, it's an insult that you're wasting my time here, interfering with me when I could be doing my job..."

"Your job?" Darzelle asked, her eyes blank. "You're a thug, a bully and a criminal. Having a badge doesn't change that."

"Sometimes..." Lily grunted, swiping out with her Cosmo Baton again, the blunt edge narrowly missing Darzelle by a few centimetres. "... Results have to be gained by any method possible."

Again, she swiped out at the Justivale, her attack missing once more due to the evasion of Darzelle. Trying to follow up with a kick, the black ranger at least caught her in the shoulder, feeling some of the armour dislodge slightly under her blow.

"Now, I'm sorry that your crappy little code doesn't allow for that, but you can bite me!" Lily snarled, suddenly sick of being on Ralnick. "Or I'll bite you, whatever. My point is, I did it all for a good reason. You still want to try and kill me, take your best shot!"

Straightening up, Darzelle started to smile at the black ranger, before a small laugh emerged from her mouth. For a moment, Lily thought that she'd got away with it, that the Justivale had gone for it.

Then, without any prior warning, the Mystigar warrior slammed her fist into the ground at her feet, directing her psychic powers through it to cause a huge shock wave, a blast that hurled Lily off her feet and into a heap several feet away.

"My psychic powers may not work directly on you," she said, dryly. "But, they still can affect the environment around you."

As if to emphasise her point, she reached out with the power of her mind, dragging a huge chunk of stony earth out of the damaged ground and hurling it at Lily, the black ranger taking the blow square in the chest. Again being thrown off her feet, she had to roll aside to avoid being hit by another such blast.

Realising that she had no chance in the current environment, the black ranger quickly got to her feet and started to run, tearing off into the swamp. No sooner had she left the scene did a smile flicker across Darzelle's face, as she brought out her scoped laser rifle.

"Looks like the hunt is on," she said, checking the weapon over for a quick inspection, before starting to follow her prey.

* * *

Behind her, the burst of laser fire raked through the air, narrowly missing her. Had she not stepped back, it might well have hit her in the chest, a possible kill shot. Jerking her Cosmo Blaster up, she fired three times in the direction where the blast had come from, none of them even going close to hitting the target.

She preferred hand to hand combat and melee weapons over blasters. Yet, she thought, a savage grin moving across her face, needs must.

Seeing a flash in the distance, she hurled herself to the ground, another blast sailing over her head. This wasn't working, she realised, already turning to run. Since her attacker wasn't going to give up, her only option was to try and defeat her. Yet at this range, that wasn't a possibility, meaning she'd have to re-take the advantage somehow.

"If I ever see another one of these things again..." she muttered, angrily. "I'm going to skin it, cook it and..."

Another shot crashed through the air, kicking up the earth close to her. If there was one saving grace in the whole thing, it was that Darzelle possibly wasn't the greatest shot out there. Unless...

That was when she heard a click above her, the sound of an automatic blaster pistol being readied. Craning her head around, Lily saw the Justivale stood above her, the weapon in her hands aimed at her head.

"You lose," she said, simply. "Time to put your reign of terror to an end."

Still gasping for breath, Lily saw the finger tighten across the trigger...

"Stop!"

At the sound of the voice, both of them looked up to see Falco hovering above them, his wings spread to keep him airborne.

"What the martrunier is this?" Darzelle demanded. "What do you want?"

"Darzelle, my name is Peregrine Griote," he replied. "I'm a Commandant in Cosmo Force, and you're about to kill one of the cadets under my command."

"What of it?" the Justivale demanded. "She made her choice..."

"Ignoring that, I'm asking you as a matter of decency and honour to let this slide," Falco replied. "As hard as it may seem, she's one of the five cadets that the Council deemed should protect the galaxy from a threat greater than you or I can imagine. As much as I respect your code, I'm going to invoke the final clause of verse eight. That a Darkmind may be spared in the event of their role in circumstances that are greater than their crimes."

"Are you serious?" Darzelle asked, looking down at Lily. "What of her crimes in the past? Those are..."

"Did you observe her taking any action at those points?" Falco replied. "Because, if you didn't, then you can't act. The Justivale code is very clear that you can't take action against someone for something that they did in the past unless you saw them do it at the time."

At first, Darzelle's face remained angry, angry at both Lily and the Aerobian above them. Until a split second later when it was replaced with a smile and a quick burst of laughter.

"Well played, Commandant Griote," she replied, lowering her blaster to offer Lily a hand up. "I'm going to release her back into your custody, I assume that you're not going to let this slide without some sort of punishment..."

"I don't tell you how to do your job," Falco retorted, darkly. "Don't assume to tell me how to do mine. I'm going to agree with you that the methods might have been a little extreme, but the information may have proved valuable."

"This threat that you speak of," Darzelle asked, looking at them both. "What exactly is it?"

"That?" Lily shouted, suddenly gesturing behind the Justivale. Before Darzelle could turn and react, the Obliving sprang out of nowhere and clamped down on her face. Despite the screams and the thrashing of the Mystigar warrior, she was unable to shake it off, the thing crawling down her throat to take over control of her.

Within seconds, the Justivale laughed, her eyes black with the shadow energy.

"Guess she knows firsthand now," she said. "Anyway, about that justice..."

"Lily," Falco said. "Remember what I said earlier about not using your power to fight her off? Things have changed, I give you authorisation to morph."

"Thanks, I was going to do it anyway," the black ranger muttered, bringing her morpher up. "Cosmosis!"

Transforming into her ranger suit, she took up a fighting stance and began to move towards the possessed Mystigar warrior, each step heavy on the soft ground.

"You ready for round two?" she asked. "Because..."

"Hey, spread the fun around," Darzelle taunted, holding out her hands. Before Lily could react, sprinkles of black energy fell from the palms of her outstretched hands, creating a group of Oblivings between her and the Justivale. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"Go down fighting?" the black ranger asked. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Surrender!" the Obliving inside Darzelle laughed, the other Oblivings starting to move towards the black ranger, their shrieks calling out into the fetid air of the swamp. "And, it might be less painful for you."

"Sorry, surrendering isn't my style," Lily muttered, reaching down to bring out her weapons. "So..."

"It's not ours, either!"

Hearing the shout, the black ranger turned to see the other four rangers, all morphed, running onto the scene from where they had been concealing themselves. At the sight of them, Darzelle curled her lip in displeasure, as Max spoke up, his voice directed at Falco in the air above them.

"Permission to engage, Commandant?" he asked, looking across at the threats. "Because..."

"Go!" the Aerobian roared, none of the rangers needing telling twice. At the same time, they ran forward to engage the threat, the Oblivings meeting them halfway.

Rushing into the fray, Max kicked out at one of the black beings close to him, knocking it onto its back. Hearing it shriek in pain, he kicked it again, throwing it towards two more of its fellow creatures to take them out of the battle for the moment. Meanwhile, Sandy hit an Obliving behind her with an elbow, the blow stunning it, before back kicking it over her head, eventually finishing it off with a powerful punch to the chest.

With Nick and Diana both taking on opponents of their own, Lily left the Obliving fighting to the rest of the rangers, sprinting after Darzelle. Seeing the black ranger get ever closer to her, the possessed Justivale hurled a ball of telekinetic energy at her, only for it to bounce off and leave her unharmed. She heard the deflected blast crash into the swamp behind her, the water spraying over the two of them as she kicked Darzelle in the face. With her attack surprising the Mystigar, she had to duck under another attack before punching her in the stomach.

"How dare you!" Darzelle howled, trying to retaliate with some of her own attacks, only for Lily to stop her in her tracks with a Cosmo Baton to the face.

Seeing the Justivale flinch in pain, Lily realised that there was something different about her opponent now than there had been before. Five minutes earlier, she wouldn't have had this much of a chance against her, but somehow, the Obliving that was now inside her seemed to be dragging her down.

Those were her thoughts before the Justivale flung out a hand, and with a single punch, sent her crashing several feet back through the air. Eventually, she landed in the middle of the now nearly empty battlefield where the other rangers had been battling the Oblivings.

"Lily's aren't supposed to fly," Nick commented, as she got up to her feet. "That's impressive."

"Oh, shut up!" she hissed. "Let's hit her hard and together!"

Nodding in agreement, all five rangers brought up their Cosmo Blasters, quickly firing them at the Justivale, the possessed Mystigar automatically bringing up her shields. Before she could get them to their full strength, the blasts got through, immediately forcing them down again.

Running forward, Lily felt the scent of blood in the air, the shots apparently having wounded the Justivale at some point. As she jumped into the air to strike her, her right arm began to glow with a black energy, before six pointed black claws erupted out of her suit, three at the knuckles of each hands...

"Shadow Claw!"

... The next thing she knew, the attack raked against Darzelle's body, Lily's second hand coming up to deal another blow in quick succession. Groaning in pain, the Justivale staggered back, the damage to her having proved to be super effective.

"You're finished," Lily said, scornfully bringing up her CED. "And now..."

Laughing at her, Darzelle held out both hands, the black energy of the Oblivings running through her system.

"It's not going to be that simple," she taunted. "The dark tendrils of Oblivion are expanding..."

Letting her sentence hang, she doubled over in pain, before straightening up again. To the complete surprise of the five rangers, the Justivale began to grow, rising up until the point where she easily towered over them.

"That's impossible!" Diana muttered. "In every sense of the word."

"Think it might be time to call in the Cosmo Fighters!" Lily exclaimed, looking to the sky. "They're our best chance."

* * *

Responding to her command, the five vehicles swooped down over the horizon, teleporting the rangers inside their own individual fighter.

"Let's do this," the black ranger continued, tapping away at the buttons in front of her. "Activating morph drive."

With the five of them pushing down the buttons at the same time, the Cosmo Fighters transformed into their Pokémon form, the Infernape, the Porygon, the Mightyena, the Grovyle and the Ditto readying themselves for battle.

"Let's get this on," Lily shouted, directing her Zord towards battle. "I'm tired of this fight."

Letting out a howling battle cry, the Mightyena Zord leaped on Darzelle and started to gnaw at her arm. Before the machine could do too much damage, the possessed Justivale managed to throw it off and punch it in the side of the head. As sparks shot up from the damage within the cockpit, Lily saw the Porygon move in to try and hit Darzelle with a Psybeam.

"Take this!" she heard Sandy shout, only for the Justivale not to be overly affected by the blast, redirecting it towards Max's Infernape Zord which was close by. As the blast knocked the Infernape off its feet, the Grovyle Zord piloted by Nick sprang onto the scene and slashed out with the leaf blades on its wrists. Despite taking a clear blow, Darzelle was apparently unhurt by the attack, turning to hit the Grovyle with a telekinetic attack, knocking it back into some trees.

Before the Ditto Zord could move in to try and get an attack off of its own, the Mystigar warrior saw the danger and held it with another attack of the same type, preventing it from moving. Suddenly worried, Diana felt her Zord fly through the air, crashing against Sandy's Porygon Zord, the blue ranger letting out a shout of frustration.

"They were never meant for this purpose!" Sandy yelled. "Fighting an overgrown Justivale might be too much for them."

"Rangers!" the voice of Doctor Katongo said through the communication system, alerting them. "It's time for you to use the morph drive again. Version 2.0, the transformation drive."

"What's that going to do?" Diana asked, as Darzelle swiped at her Ditto Zord, knocking it over. "You've got to give us more to..."

"You need to bring them together and form the Cosmo Megazord," the Psorian interrupted. "It combines your firepower into something more manageable."

"I'm up for it!" Max exclaimed. "It's all yours, Lily. Since you've got one heck of an argument going on with her."

"Activating morph drive 2.0," the black ranger said, hitting a button. "Cosmo Megazord formation!"

* * *

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

Still in their individual Zords, the rangers looked around to see a whole set of new screens around them, each showing the various status readouts of the Megazord.

"Well, this is cool," Nick commented. "Right?"

"Cosmo Megazord is online and ready to battle," Doctor Katongo commented. "You can do this, it's not beyond you to beat her here."

"What are we waiting for then?" Sandy asked. "Let's get it done."

Moving across the swamp, the Cosmo Megazord threw a punch at Darzelle, who blocked it and kicked the Megazord in the chest. Rather than staggering back, the Cosmo Megazord retaliated with a kick of its own, managing to land the blow into Darzelle's chest.

"Maybe some sort of weapons system would have been a good idea," Nick commented. "Anyone got anything to prove me wrong on that?"

"Let's see..." Lily said, looking around her consoles. "There has to be something here..."

"I've got it," Max commented, hitting his own attack controls. "Let's see what this does."

In response to his order, a pair of cannons emerged from the chest of the Megazord, immediately launching a barrage of fireballs at Darzelle, the red hot blasts causing her to scream out in pain as the explosions racked her body.

"Cool," the red ranger remarked, punching the air. "I christen that attack the Fire Bomb Blast."

"Never mind about that," Diana interrupted. "I think we've got to find some other way of finishing her off."

"Wait a second," Lily offered, quickly butting into the conversation. "I've got something. Shadow Uppercut!"

At her order, the Cosmo Megazord hurled itself forward, the Mightyena arm glowing with a black energy before smashing Darzelle in the jaw, sending her crashing up into the air.

"Nice hit," Nick commented. "We get anything else?"

"Apart from a few other things," Doctor Katongo interrupted, still speaking through the communication system. "There is a weapon. The Star Blade."

"The Star Blade?" Sandy repeated. "Well, that sounds strong. Is it ready to be used?"  
"One way to find out," Lily said. "Summoning Star Blade!"

In response to her command, a long broadsword appeared in the hands of the Cosmo Megazord, the blade and handle silver, while they were separated by a golde design that resembled a five pointed star.

"Cool sword!" Diana remarked. "Let's see what it can do."

Almost as if the Megazord had heard her, it began to move forward, slashing away at Darzelle with the weapon, almost able to cut through her defenses at will, despite her best efforts to avoid taking damage.

"Time to finish her off," Lily said, almost sounding relieved that the ordeal was close to being over. "Star Blade Assault!"

As the Cosmo Megazord raised the weapon up high above its head, the sword began to glow with a bright white light. Before Darzelle could move to escape, it came crashing down, slashing her five times in quick succession. Overcome by the assault, she fell backwards and exploded, a wave of fire rising up in the air from the area where she had stood.

"That's that then, isn't it," Lily remarked, almost sounding depressed at what they had just done. "Can't believe we had to do that."

"Do what?" the sudden interruption of Doctor Katongo asked. "The attacks from the Star Blade contain the same energy as used in your CED. Rather than kill her, she's been transported to Acathria. Relax, she's very much alive."

"Oh..." Lily said, surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Lot of things that you don't," the Psorian replied, his voice ever so slightly snippy.

* * *

"You wanted something, Cadet Yushaa?"

Having stepped into Falco's office, Lily calmly opened her mouth to speak, directing what she was saying at the Commandant.

"There's something I wanted to say," she said, softly. "Commandant, I wanted to thank you for saving my life earlier. If you hadn't stepped in, I wouldn't be speaking to you now."

"Perhaps," Falco replied. "I honestly believed that you would find some way of completing the task without my help. Maybe something would have come off in those final seconds, some sort of gambit you might have pulled out of nowhere. However, I took a chance. You're a fine cadet, if a little impetuous and arrogant..."

She looked like she wanted to say something in response, but a quick glare silenced her, allowing him to carry on speaking.

"Not that these are terrible qualities," he replied. "If they are used right, honed in the correct way, then they are admirable. When I was a cadet like you, I had similar problems but I got through them. The one thing to remember, and it's not an indictment against what you can or can't do, is that there's always somebody better than you out there. You discovered that the hard way today. I'm not going to hand down any sort of punishment for this, but I do ask that you take what you learned today and think about it. Use it as a motive to make yourself better."

"Sir, what about Darzelle?" Lily asked, quickly. "She was just doing what she thought was right, and we sent her to Acathria."

"Until we can work out a way to get the Obliving out of her, she's going to have to stay there," Falco answered. "Same goes for anyone else you bring in in the same circumstances. It's unfair on them, but what can be done?"

Pausing for a moment, he saw Lily musing over it, before speaking one final time.

"Dismissed, Cadet."

Those final two words fresh in her ears, he watched the black ranger turn towards the exit, leaving him alone in his office.

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Okay then...**

**So, that's the Cosmo Megazord. Impressed? Yes? No? Maybe? Anyway, it doesn't matter.**

**Also, some more building on the characters, although what Lily's past back story was isn't revealed yet, it's thrown out that there's something there.**

**In any case, you have to feel a bit sorry for Darzelle in this episode. But, since she was trying to take out one of the main characters, possibly not too much.**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews. They are all welcomed.**

**The next one is entitled Undercover, the preview is below.**

**Can't really think of much more, other than if you check out the latest Lost Zone, there's a cameo appearance from two of the GO rangers in there, so if you're missing them...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Six, Undercover, preview.**

**Payne: You're not going to believe what just came through.**

**Sandy: A cult?**

**Falco: We believe that a cult has sprang up on Arybus that worships Oblivings.**

**Techno 9: They believe that whatever it is will bring in a new dawn.**

**Lily: So, how are we going to get in there.**

**Diana: There's always a way in. I say the front door.**

**?: We devote our lives to Oblivion. Everyone here will take on part of it.**

**Diana: Uh oh...**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	6. Undercover

Chapter Six. Undercover.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After the events on Alysium, the rangers finally managed to make their way to Ralnick in order to track down a dock worker who had seen an Obliving recently. As they split up to track him down, Lily eventually found him, only to employ some unsavoury methods in gaining information from the figure. Unknown to her, she was observed by a Justivale, who made it her mission to take Lily down. After she attacked the rangers at the space port, Falco ordered Lily to solve the problem herself. The confrontation didn't go Lily's way, but before Darzelle could kill her, Falco stepped in to talk her down. It didn't end well as an Obliving took control of the Justivale, forcing the rangers to fight her with the brand new Cosmo Megazord..._

_

* * *

_

"Well, wasn't this a welcome distraction," Nick commented, sarcastically. "We've got nothing on, so we do grunt work..."

"Grunt work is the base of all Cosmo Force cadets," Sandy said, cheerfully lifting one of the boxes up as she spoke. "Besides, it's not like they're heavy."

"Maybe not heavy for you," the green ranger complained, struggling to follow the other cadet while carrying the boxes of his own. "Not all of us have cyborg arms."

"What's your secret, Nick?" the blue ranger asked, glancing around at him. "I've seen you pull out that energy draining trick, that's not something that..."

"Hey, you have your secrets, I have mine," he replied, shrugging. "It's not something I like to broadcast. Let's just say I picked it up somewhere. Maybe it'll come out one day. Nothing stays secret."

Moving outside the room, they saw the other three rangers having a stern conversation with a group of Psorians who they had managed to track down at the request of a company on the Stronghold losing money to what they were doing. Having hacked into the servers of the company in question, they had proceeded to steal the code for what they were designing and sell it off for their own profit.

"We're probably not going to take you in," Max said, looking at the leader of the small gang. "But, it will get placed on your records. And, better Psorians than you designed those things, so there's no doctoring them."

"You try it again, you will get a minimum twenty year sentence in Acathria," Lily warned. "Okay?"

Despite what they had done, none of the Psorians were hardened criminals, so instead of arguing the case, they quickly decided to leave the scene, grateful that the rangers hadn't taken any further action against them.

"So, you let them off?" Sandy asked, surprised at what had happened. "Thought you'd have taken at least one of them in."

"No point," Diana replied. "I mean, if they're able to hack into the servers of a top company at that age, then they'll probably end up in the employ of one of those places at some point in the future. Why deprive them of that future, it's not like they murdered anyone."

"We've recovered the stolen equipment," Max commented. "Everything else that they intended to sell, and confiscated the stuff they need to be able to do it again. Now that it's on their record for cyber crime, they won't be able to get it again for at least four years unless they can prove it's needed for a job. Hopefully that'll be enough to persuade them to go straight."

"Wow, you really believe in rehabilitation," Nick remarked, still struggling with the crates. "Can we move along before I drop these?"

"Hey, it worked for me," Max shot back. "And look at me now..."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"Good work, cadets," Falco said, watching them carry the crates into the storage hold of the Night Hawk. "It might not be glamorous, but you've done a decent days work here."

"Yeah, yay," Nick muttered, grumpily. "It feels so noble."

"Glad that you feel that way, Cadet Miele," the Aerobian Commandant remarked. "Because someone needs to catalogue it. Thanks for volunteering."

Next to the green ranger, both Lily and Sandy heard him mutter a series of curses under his breath at the injustice of it, but Falco either ignored it or didn't hear it, before speaking up.

"And, for those that were behind the crime?" he asked, directing his question at Max. "What happened to them?"

"Confiscated their equipment, uploaded the details of both their DNA and the unique pattern of their brainwaves to the blacklist for getting any more, given them a warning and sent them on their way," Max answered. "Okay?"

"You didn't feel the need to bring them in?" Falco demanded, the faintest flicker of annoyance on his features.

"That was the standard procedure for something like this," Sandy said. "Sir!"

"Just checking you knew the protocol," he replied, before turning to leave. Pausing at the exit, he craned his head back to look at Nick. "I want that material catalogued and the list uploaded to the ship's mainframe AQAP."

"Yes, Sir!" the green ranger said, saluting his commandant before watching the figure leave. As the door closed behind him, Nick visibly lost the plot, turning to kick one of the crates.

"Anyone asks, it was like that when we brought it in," he said, gesturing to the dent. "Okay?"

* * *

"Anyone else feel a bit sorry for Nick?" Diana asked, as the four cadets minus the green ranger, walked into the mess hall. "I mean, that was a bit unfortunate for him to draw the short cable like that."

"The short cable?" Lily replied, giving the yellow ranger a condescending look. "There was no drawing of broken pieces of cable to see who got the short one. Think Falco gave him that order for a lack of respect."

"This from someone who shows a chronic lack of respect for authority," Max remarked. "That is rich."

"Hey, when I feel the need to badmouth Falco, I don't do it to his face," Lily shot back. "That's just brainless."

As they spoke, the four of them walked over to the counter where Gordon was stood behind several trays of food, an electronic cigarette in his mouth.

"Should you really be smoking that while around food?" Sandy asked, looking at the chef. "I mean..."

"It doesn't give off smoke," he replied. "So, quit complaining. Unless you fancy getting takeout from the closest planet."

"It doesn't give off smoke," Sandy repeated. "No, you're right there, it doesn't. However, I think if you read the manual for it, it does secrete large drops of battery acid which around food..."

"It's good to get some iron in your food," he replied, his expression not changing. "You don't like it, get on the shuttle and find somewhere else."

"You got any orange soda?" Lily asked, giving him a hopeful smile. "Because..."

"Picked up a crate of it back on that planet we were just at," Gordon replied, reaching under the counter to pull out a bottle of orange coloured liquid. "That's not part of your allocated meal, it'll cost you to get some of it. But, it's guaranteed to pep up any meal. Especially the crap I serve."

"You're running an extortion ring on orange soda?" Diana asked, surprised. "Isn't that a bit..."

"Shut up, I'll gladly pay for that," Lily replied, reaching into her back pocket to toss him some credits. "Although, if it's orange water, I'm going to come back here and..."

"Relax, it's not orange water," Gordon said, holding his hands up. "If it's orange water, you can come back here and hurl one of these empty trays at me."

"If it's orange water, I'll be throwing you out of the airlock," Lily muttered, under her breath.

* * *

Back in the cargo hold, Nick yanked open the final crate, pulling out something that he hadn't expected to find there. It had been many years since he had seen one on sale, let alone guessed that one would come into his possession.

"Cool, a virtual reality headset," he said, looking the item all over. It resembled a bright red visor with a mouthpiece microphone and a pair of coverings to go over the ears. "Didn't know that there was one of these in here."

* * *

"This is the annoying thing about flying," Payne commented, relaxed back in the co-pilots seat of the Night Hawk, Golde next to him, his full focus directed on his duty as pilot, while Falco was stalking the back part of the room, apparently waiting for something to come through. "We're powering ahead at over ten thousand miles per hour, yet we have no idea where we're going. Or even where we're meant to go."

"That's one of the fun things about flying," Golde corrected. "Not the annoying ones. It gets really fun when I push her into ten thousand miles per second. That's when you really need lightning quick reflexes, otherwise you might shoot off course and hit a planet."

"In what way is that fun?" Payne asked, giving the young Aerobian a raised eyebrow glance. "Because, that sounds the very antipathy of fun."  
"We've travelled at those speeds before," Falco pointed out. "Didn't hear you complaining then. It's required to get across the galaxy in a short space of time."  
"Plus, similar technology is used in Cosmo Fighters," Golde remarked. "Those really have to utilise faster than light speeds to get where they are needed."

"Good thing that they utilise autopilot to get from the Stronghold, or one of the appropriate bases," Falco said. "At those speeds, an organic pilot would be..."

He let his words hang, allowing everyone present to imagine what might happen to some subjected to those incredible speeds.

"What about the ranger suits that our cadets wear?" Payne asked. "You think that might enable them to better survive something like that?"

"Hopefully, they'll never have to experience it," Falco remarked. "Only an idiot would wish for that kind of test to their fortitude."

"At those speeds," Techno 9 butted in, adding her opinion to the conversation. "Their fortitude would probably be very lightly spread over the inside of the cockpit, along with some blood, a bit of urine and perhaps some bone fragments."

"Thanks for that addition to our conversation," Falco said, sounding annoyed with the artificial intelligence system. "You have something else to add?"

"The intelligence that you are waiting for is about to arrive in three seconds and a tenth of a fourth," Techno 9 replied. "Enjoy, I think it makes for fascinating reading."

Right on cue, a console next to Payne beeped, giving the Felaine a chance to take a quick look at it, before whistling slightly.

"You're not going to believe what just came through," he remarked, gesturing down at the screen next to him. "It has to be seen to be taken in."

Intrigued by the description that he'd just been given, Falco moved on over to the screen to get a good look at whatever it was that his first mate found so unbelievable.

"That's disturbing," he remarked, running his eyes across it. "Better set a course for Arybus."

* * *

"Want to explain what the big fuss was earlier?" Max asked, glancing across to where Lily was sat drinking what she had bought from Gordon. "All that for some orange soda?"

"Hey, I like it, okay?" the black ranger replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing at all," Sandy said, softly. "But, threatening to put someone out of the airlock because of it..."

"That was a threat to make sure that he wasn't cheating me," Lily answered. "Drop it, okay? I don't criticise you for..."

"Fine," Diana commented, grinning at her. "You want the subject changed, give us something else to talk about."

Pausing for a moment, Lily looked around the table, before spotting a large ball of artificial meat left on Sandy's tray. All in all, it was about the size of a Techball, a little large than her hand.

"Bet I can fit that in my mouth, whole," she said, nodding at it. "Without biting down and then swallow it easily."

"That sounds like it'll be pretty disgusting to watch," Max commented. "But, what the hell, there's nothing else on."

"I'm not doing this again unless I have to," the black ranger warned, looking around at each of them. "So, make sure that you don't blink and miss it."

"Why, is it really that short?" Diana asked, watching Lily pick up the piece of meat and toss it up into the air. In the next few moments, everyone looked on in a mix of interest and trepidation as she somehow unhinged her lower jaw and allowed the whole ball to slip into her now wider mouth. Before anyone could blink, it was down her throat and out of sight, a shallow creak ringing out as Lily put her jaws back into their natural position, rubbing at the side of her mouth as they did so.

"Forgot how much that hurt," she muttered, taking in the reactions. "So..."

"I feel creeped out," Diana commented, something that both Max and Sandy appeared to agree with, judging by their reactions. All in all, it was the sort of reaction that the black ranger had expected to get, with the exception of...

"That was quite cool actually."

Glancing around, the four of them saw Nick walking over to them, a grin on his face.

"Excuse me?" Lily asked. "What did you just say?"

"I said I thought that you swallowing that thing whole was quite cool," he remarked. "Okay?"

"Freak," she muttered, turning away from him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Anyway, after that impromptu welcome back," the green ranger said, glancing across at the others. "Falco wants us all to meet him in the main briefing room when we're done eating."

* * *

"What's going on, Commandant?" Max asked, the five cadets walking into the briefing room to see their superior officer waiting for them, a surprisingly patient look on his face. "You summon us here for a reason?"

"Of course," the Aerobian answered, slightly grumpily. "I'm not going to call you here for any nothing, am I?"

"Okay, what's the situation?" Diana wondered. "Why were we called here."

"I'm letting you know that we're heading to Arybus," he said. "There's a possible mission there."

"Great," Nick muttered. "Got to be better than carrying boxes around."  
"Based on new intelligence that we've been flashed through via the official channels," Falco continued, ignoring Nick to look around the room at the cadets. "We believe that a cult has sprang up on Arybus that worships Oblivings."

"A cult?" Sandy asked, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice. "You're joking, right?"

"Unfortunately not, Cadet Garcia," the Aerobian said, shaking his head at the way she had seemed to brush off the information as a joke. "Keep your opinion to yourself until you have all the facts."

"That's about typical, isn't it," Max said, rolling his eyes. "We have all the other stuff to deal with, and now, there's a cult out there."

"According to what was sent through, they believe that whatever it is will bring in a new dawn," Techno 9 offered. "It being whatever is behind the Obliving attacks."

"Does there have to be something behind the Obliving threat?" Diana asked, wearily. "Can't it just be a series of isolated incidents?"

"Who just happen to already have a cult following them?" Lily retorted. "Hasn't it occurred to anyone that there probably is something directing them somewhere?"

"Do not underestimate this threat," Falco warned, cutting into the middle of the debate. "A collection of minds all thinking the same along the same lines, all believing the same ideal and all willing to die for those beliefs is a dangerous thing indeed."

"It's just like being in the military," Techno 9 said, the comment bringing smiles out from the cadets. On the other hand, Falco didn't see the funny side, throwing a dirty look at the speaker where the voice was coming from.

* * *

"So, this is Arybus," Diana remarked, the shuttle flying high above the surface of the brown coloured planet. With the exception of several large cities across the planet, the rest of it was desert, the sands giving the planet its brown hue from above. "Wretched hive of scum and villainy..."

"I've got a cousin who lives here," Max said, glancing around at the yellow ranger. "It's not all bad. Just some of it is scum."

"I wouldn't live here," Nick commented, dryly. "It's... Too brown."

"Well, they do say that we all need some colour in our lives," Sandy said, a small grin across her face as she said it. "But, that's not much of an excuse about it."

"I just wouldn't feel safe here," the green ranger offered, trying to amend his answer. "I mean, if there's a cult worshipping Oblivings here, it just proves that there are some nutters here on this planet."

"There are nutters on every planet," Lily pointed out. "Not just Arybus. But, I will agree with you that what you've just said does touch the limit."

"Never mind about that," Max said, breaking up the conversation. "Let's find some place to land and track down that cult. Let's see if that intel turned out to be accurate."

* * *

"So, how are we going to get in there?" Lily asked, looking across at the building on the other side of the street. After having found it, the five of them had moved into the abandoned home across the road and decided to study it before making a move. "What way is going to attract the least attention?"

"There's always a way in," Diana commented, moving towards the exit of the abandoned building. "I say the front door."

"Subtle," Nick remarked. "I like it. Nobody would expect that at all."

"Looks like they're letting anyone in," said Sandy, moving to get a better look at what was going on. "Spread the word of the Oblivings and all that."

"They speak now?" Nick asked, surprised. "Thought that it was just a series of mindless screeches."

"Apparently not," Max said. "Good thing we're out of uniform, or they might not let us in."

* * *

Having made their way into the building, and later into the main speaking area, the cadets broke up and dispersed without a word, moving to sit on their own within the throng of beings there to listen to what they were about to be told. It was part of Cosmo Force procedure not to hang around in a group, in that it would possibly avert suspicion. Moving around in a tightly knit group would possibly have the opposite effect.

Before too long, a suited figure wearing a Sableye mask that hid his facial features completely from view stepped up to the podium at the front of the room, looking around for a moment before starting to speak.

"Greetings, everyone," the figure said, his masculine voice proving to everyone listening what his gender was. "We thank you for coming."

"Polite," Diana muttered, looking around at the figure sat next to her, a black skinned Croack. "I like that."

Giving her a strange look, the Toxicroak-like Poké Alien ignored her and turned away to go and listen to what the speaker had to say.

"Secrecy has to be apologised for," the speaker continued. "But, to announce this on a galactic presence would be a grave mistake. Especially to those on the council. Those short sighted idiots couldn't recognise a good thing if it came up to them, shook their hands and promised to end all of the galactic strife that they themselves on the council have caused. Sure, there have been good things. There's peace, and that's all most of us are content to have. But, some of us want more. We want peace and a better life, not peace and a passable existence. This is why I'm here to tell you about Oblivion..."

The final word brought out some murmurs among the crowd, only for the speaker to quickly move to cut them out, a laugh spilling from the mouth hole in his mask.

"Now now, don't let the name fool you. That was a moniker from a different time, a time when Oblivion meant a state of total and utter relaxation, free from all your troubles and your strife. Now, I have spoken to the mighty Oblivion, he has guided me through the troubles of my life to come to YOU!"

Emphasising the You, the speaker stood up straight and pointed at the crowd, sweeping his gesture across them. More quiet sounds of debate were breaking out among some of the sects, the beings there apparently interested in what was being promised.

"I have come to Arybus because it's one of the most wholesome places in this galaxy. Wholesome in its obliqueness, in the way that nobody cares what happens to it. A solar flare could wipe everyone here out completely. A nearby star could supernova, sucking this planet into a black hole. Would anyone outside those living here care? Sure, your relatives would, but would anyone of galactic importance? Oblivion does. More than just several complex speeches, and the usual outcry against black holes from the lunacy of the lobbies who try to sanitise every aspect of life..."

Again, the speaker paused, reflecting on where he was going to go next. Another fast look across the room, he soon began to pipe up again, letting his speech carry on.

"Oblivion cares," he said, rather lamely in contrast with the rest of the speech. "I'm not going to make promises on his behalf that can't be kept. Instead, I'm going to leave you here with a gift at his behest..."

Behind the group, the lights flashed on to reveal a veritable feast, enough food and drink to satisfy the entire crowd that had come to listen to the speech from the speaker.

"... All compliments of my benefactor," the speaker commented. "While you're eating it, just consider whether or not your love is something that you could offer to Oblivion. That is all that he wants. Not your money in exorbitant taxes, but high towering piles of love and appreciation. If you love him, then you can take on what he feels in return. Think about it, I request of you, at least consider whether or not you can offer your affection to an unseen figure who will cherish you. Thanks for listening to me."

With that, the speaker bowed low and moved away from the podium, gesturing over to a figure wearing some crimson coloured robes in the front row. Throughout the crowd, the rangers noticed that more beings wearing similar attire could be seen in with the throng of watches.

"What did you think to that?" a Draconis next to Sandy asked, looking around at her. "Did you think that sounded too good to be true?"

Glancing at the humanoid Dragonair-like Poké Alien, the blue ranger shrugged, letting a puzzled look move across her face.

"I think it did," she answered. "It did sound too good to be true."

* * *

"What did you think of that speech?" Nick asked, glancing over at Lily and Diana. "That convinced you that we should stop bothering?"

"Maybe it's a different Oblivion," Lily remarked, shrugging. "That's always a chance."

"It's not a common name," Diana pointed out. "It's not like being on the planet of the Plusorians and the Minarions where you can't move for meeting a Plusorb or a Minnet."

"Always thought that they were strange names," Max said, walking over to join them. "Where did that craze start?"

"It was with that holo-show," Sandy offered. "The Wacky Adventures of Plusorb and Minnet."

"I remember that," Nick mused. "That was funny from time to time. They never got a break, did they?"

"Think that was the point," Max added. "Anyway, what have we got?"

"That looks like the area where the bigwigs are going," Sandy remarked, spotting the speaker move into a roped off area, a particularly large Choklian letting him through. Unlike most of the Choklian throughout the galaxy, this one was a fully grown one, complete with Machamp features. Most of them throughout the galaxy remained in their Machoke forms for a long time, but to see a fully grown one was a surprise. As if to restore the status quo, a younger Choklian with a Machoke appearance came out of the room to join his elder on guard duty. Over the past few minutes, several other robed figures had been going in, leaving the main areas of the room where the majority of the beings wanting to get into the cult were.

"We need to get in there," Max said. "Now, how to do that..."

"I've got a suggestion," Diana offered. "If you can subtly grab one and keep them from coming in and interrupting, I could assume their form and move in to see what's going on."

"Okay, we'll do that then," Lily remarked, already looking around the room. "Any preferences?"

"Yeah, someone female," Diana said, shrugging. "Hate transforming into guys unless I have to."

"You don't ask for much, huh?" Lily replied, darkly. "Okay, we'll go grab someone. Me and Sandy. The rest of you wait outside in the alley, and we'll bring her out."

"Or him," Sandy added. "Because that's always a chance."

"Like I said," the yellow ranger remarked. "Unless I have to."

* * *

"Excuse me, Miss?"

In response to the question, the robed figure turned around to see what was wanted, coming face to face with the blue and black rangers. Underneath the hood of her robes, they could see that she was an purple furred Eonite, an Eevee-like Poké Alien that had definite Espeon features, her face displaying a surprised look.

"Yes?" she asked, a haughty voice coming out of her mouth. "What can I do? What do you want?"

Not hesitating, Sandy pulled out her badge, giving the female a cold look.

"Can you come with us a moment?" she asked, quietly. "And try not to cause a scene."

"Otherwise, it will turn violent very quickly," Lily said, her voice quiet but with the undertone of a threat. "I can promise you that. And you'll be the first to get whacked. That's also a promise."

"Unless you have cause to take me out of here, I'll have to refuse," she replied, giving them a cold smile. "Because..."

Completely cutting her off, Lily reached out into her robes, quickly pulling out a clear packet full of what looked like black dust.

"Probable cause," she said. "Black Phato Ash. Illegal to own on seventeen planets, including this one. Now, if you cooperate, we might forget about it. All we want is your cooperation, okay?"

"That's not mine!" the Eonite replied, indignantly. "How dare you try and fit me up here. This isn't going to stand!"

Her mouth widened, giving the impression that she was going to try and alert the Choklians nearby, drawing them over to throw out the two cadets. Thinking quickly, Lily moved out her arm and pushed her forward, the Poké Alien almost falling to the ground. At the same time, Sandy reached out to catch her, wrapping an arm around the shoulders of the purple furred Eonite, her other arm closing around her throat to cut off her planned shout.

"It's okay," the blue ranger said, glancing around at the Choklian guards, both of who had straightened up in anticipation of the trouble. "Think she's had a bit too much to drink. It's no problem, we'll take her outside for some air."

"Yes, we're very good hearted Samaritans," Lily said, her voice flat and emotionless. Even if Sandy hadn't known the black ranger, she wouldn't have believed the statement. Yet, the guards seemed to buy it, waving them on.

"See, they're dumber than they look," Lily continued, the two of them helping the Eonite out of the fire exit. "Wouldn't fancy fighting one of them though, even with morphing powers."

"Mmm-hmm," Sandy remarked, not replying directly to the comment. "Where'd you get the Black Phato Ash?"

"Picked it up off a street vendor before we came in here," Lily answered. "That nearly came off. How'd you know it was me who tried to plant it?"

"Cybernetic eye," Sandy replied. "Nothing much gets past it. Good idea though, I'll give you that."

"Thanks."

* * *

"The moment I get away from here, I'm going to instantly call my legal advisers and look to have you withdrawn from active duty!" the Eonite screeched, as she was tossed to the ground. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"An impostor!"

Looking around, the Eonite recoiled immediately, as she saw an identical version of herself stood in the alley. Reaching out to touch the face of the replica, the replica mimicked the action and touched the Eonite's own face.

"That's impossible!" the Eonite complained, the mouth movements on her other self being mirrored. "Cut that out."

Again, the replica made the mouth movements. The real Eonite's eyes widened in anger, the mouth curled at the corners. So did those of the replica. That was the final of the strange mirror act, as the replica reached out to grab the head of the real Eonite and slammed her against the wall to knock her out cold.

"I enjoyed that," Diana remarked, scratching her face. "Should have specified no fur, either. It always itches whenever I change back."

"Don't knock having fur," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "There's worse things."

"Anyway," Max interrupted, moving over to the unconscious form of the Eonite. "There probably could have been a better way to do that..."

"She comes around and says that she was knocked out by an exact mirror image of her," Sandy commented. "Plus, the guards saw her nearly fall over. They'll think she was drinking."

"Never mind about that," Diana said, crouching down next to the unconscious Eonite. "Help me get these robes off her."

* * *

Walking into the room, she was waved past the Choklian guards, before walking into the room with apparent ease. So far so good, she was almost in. At the back of the dark chamber behind the speaking hall, she could see the figure in the Sableye mask, he was speaking to a circle of beings around a table, all of them wearing the same robes as she was.

"And, now we're all here," the Sableye masked speaker said, seeing Diana move into position. "Excellent. The twelve of you have all made the decision to embrace Oblivion, correct."

"Aye!"

The simple response was repeated eleven times, until only Diana remained to speak, quickly making the sound to keep her cover.

"Excellent," Sableye mask said, folding his arms. "Because you have heard the words of the unholy master of darkness, you are here to lay down your lives to such a figure. That is to be applauded. To accept his love, there is only one condition. Do you know what that condition is?"  
All around the room, there was silence. In her head, Diana was letting her mind wander, wishing that he would get on with it and not leave her in silence.

"We devote our lives to Oblivion," the figure with the Sableye mask said, looking around at the group. "Everyone here will take on part of it. We will become one with it."

As he spoke, a group of Oblivings emerged from the shadows, each of them quickly moving towards an individual of the group.

"Uh oh..." Diana muttered, quickly realising what might happen. Her wandering mind was suddenly back down to earth. "Not good."

Glancing around, she realised that she couldn't sneak out without anyone noticing her exit. If by some miracle, the beings around the table failed to notice it, the pair of Choklian security guards at the curtained hole that passed for the exit would.

"Everyone will take on a part of him," Sableye mask repeated, none of the Poké Aliens under the robes moving to run. Unlike Diana, they were all here voluntarily, meaning that none of them would probably move to help her if she asked for it. "No exceptions."

"Oh screw!" she whispered, seeing that the Oblivings were moving ever closer, no escape from them visible, no hint of mercy in their features...

* * *

"Hey!" Nick exclaimed, seeing the yellow ranger walk out of the building, immediately moving to walk over towards them. "She's out."

"Fantastic, I was getting bored," Lily commented. "This should liven things up a bit."

"What's going on?" Max asked, seeing Diana approach them. "What did you find in there."

"What indeed," she replied, a small smile passing across her face. "What did we find in there? Enlightenment in the blackest void of Oblivion! What else can we ask for?"

"Ah, Max..." Sandy started to say, taking a small step back. "I think that's cause to suddenly be worried."

Almost as if she'd made to prove the blue ranger's point, Diana threw out a fist at Max, almost catching him in the face. Jumping backwards, the red ranger let out a yelp as he saw the black shadows erupt across her eyes.

"Oh no..." Nick said, softly. "That's not good."

"You would prevent us from doing what we must do," the being inside Diana said, the voice growing drier and harsher by the second. "You must be obliterated. As a warning!"

In the next moment, the worst fears of the four remaining rangers were multiplied as the yellow ranger brought her morpher and shot an evil smile at them.

"Cosmosis!"

Immediately transforming into her ranger suit, she began to move towards the other four cadets, drawing out both weapons as she did.

"Max! Plan?" Sandy asked. "Fight or flee?"

"We've got to try and help her," the red ranger said, bringing his own morpher up. "Let's ranger up!"

"Cosmosis!"

As one, Max, Sandy, Lily and Nick morphed into their costumes, quickly moving to defend themselves against the attacking Diana. Giving out a battle cry, Lily swung out at the yellow ranger with a fist, trying to neutralise her without causing too much damage. What she was trying to do didn't come off as Diana ducked under it and hit her in the stomach with the Cosmo Baton, causing the black ranger to double over in pain.

Next, Nick and Sandy came rushing over, the green and blue rangers clearly intending to double team her. Not showing any remorse for them, the yellow ranger turned and fired several shots at the two of them, the blasts finding their mark. Although the shots were enough to put the two rangers down on the ground temporarily, their suits did manage to protect them from any serious damage.

Finally, Max sprang up, his fist bursting into flames as he moved through the air towards his former team mate.

"Fire Punch!"

"That's what you think!" Diana laughed, jumping up to go and engage him. As she moved, her own fist began to glow with a white and yellow energy, the glow making her fist seem twice as large as it was normally. "Mega Punch!"

Reaching each other, the two rangers both tried to hit each other, only for their attacks to negate each other. Slamming the powerful attacks against the other, neither was seriously hurt but they were both thrown back by the resulting shock wave.

"That all you've got?" the Obliving inside the yellow ranger demanded, getting back up to stride towards Max. "I've got plenty left in the tank..."

Before she could say much more, both Nick and Sandy rose up from where they were laid and grabbed her arms to prevent her from moving. At the same time, Lily began to move towards the secured yellow ranger, the black shadowy claws emerging from her knuckles.

"You're still outnumbered!" Nick said, smirking at her under his helmet. "That's such a shame for you."

In response to him, the yellow ranger flung both of them forward, dislodging herself from their grip. Surprised by the sudden action, Lily was knocked down by the two flailing rangers, her attack fading.

But, as the Obliving inside Diana let out a laugh, the sudden sense that something was wrong rushed through her head. That was when she was hit from behind by one of Max's Fire Punches, the blow hurling her forward and to the ground. The surprise impact was too much for her to take, the suited yellow ranger dropping to her knees.

"Power down!" she gasped, her ranger suit vanishing from view at the command. Completely surprised, the other rangers looked across to Diana, still seeing that her eyes were covered in the black smoke.

"What the...?" Lily grunted. "What's the percentage here? Why would it transform out of her suit, there's no..."

"It's me!" Diana bellowed, her voice wracked with pain and exhaustion. "Oh no! I can't keep it away... It's trying to get hold of me again. You've got to... You've got to..."

"Come on, Diana!" Sandy exclaimed, moving towards the yellow ranger. "You've got a connection with it. It's part of you right now, there's got to be some way that you can use that. Just try and keep your focus..."

"I can't!" she screeched, small trickles of blood running down her cheeks. "It's too strong! I can feel it in my mind!"

"It's trying to take back control of you because it knows that you can beat it!" Sandy warned, kneeling down in front of the knelt yellow ranger. "Are you going to let it do that? Are you going to let some annoying shadow from the nether regions get to you like that? Just try anything that you think might work!"

"I don't know! I don't know!" Diana howled, her fingers scrabbling at the ground beneath her. "How? How? It's too powerful..."

"She's said that about four times in the last few minutes," Nick remarked. "And it hasn't done her yet. Have to wonder how strong it actually is."

"Diana, if you can feel it in your head, you have a connection to it," Sandy continued, placing her hands on the yellow ranger's shoulders. "Stay with me! You have to use that connection to find what it wants you to do the least and exploit it. You've got that bond."

"I have bonded with it!" Diana gasped, still on her knees. "And I know the only thing that it cannot possess... Here goes nothing..."

Letting out a scream, she began to transform again, her skin turning a jet black colour. Her body lost most of its corporeality, while her face mutated into one resembling that of an Obliving. Within the space of a few seconds, the human form of the yellow ranger was completely lost.

"Holy crap, she did it," Lily said, picking herself up. "Now, what's going to happen?"

Still stood stock still, the Obliving looked across at them all, the eyes peering at the individual figures with suspicion and distrust.

"Diana?" Nick asked, softly. "You in there?"

His question was enough to bring out the reaction, the Obliving rising up to slam its fist into the ground. As that black part of shadow broke away from its arm, the creature letting out a screech of pain, it began to change again. This time, it was slow and deliberate, the black skin seemingly taking ages to turn pink again.

In all, it took a few minutes for Diana to completely return to normal. Gasping for breath, she slumped to all fours and continued to choke roughly for the next several moments, until Sandy spoke up.

"You okay?"

* * *

"Having given you a full medical examination..." Evelyn started to say, having finished looking at the medical scans that had just been taken from the yellow ranger.

"Didn't expect you to check that I'm musically inclined," Diana interrupted, before quickly backing down as she saw the dirty look she was being given.

"... I'd say that you're fine," she replied. "No lasting damage, there's some minor internal scarring but nothing that you should have a huge problem with."

"I see," Diana said, sincere this time as she spoke. "Thanks, though. Worried for a moment there."

"Interesting that you managed to get one of these things out of your system," Evelyn commented, her interest moving back towards the notes. "Pity it's not a thing that can be used on the whole to get rid of them."

"Lucky me though," the yellow ranger said, hearing the doors open behind her. Looking up, she saw the other four rangers walk in, Nick holding a trio of yellow coloured balloons. "That feels compounded by now."

"Thought you could use some decoration," the green ranger replied, letting them go and hit the ceiling, where they immediately exploded to shower the room in glitter. "Although..."

"What's the deal, Doc?" Sandy asked, turning to Evelyn. "She going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine," the medical officer confirmed. "I would recommend a few days without anything too strenuous, but if needs absolutely must then it's not going to kill her."

"Okay, I'm going to get dressed and head out," Diana said, getting off the bed where she had been sitting. "Max, Nick, get out!"

Not saying anything, the two male rangers gave each other some mock sad looks, before turning to leave.

"What was it like?" Lily immediately asked, hearing the door close behind her. "Having one of those things inside you?"

"I see all sense of sensitivity has jumped out of the closest window," Sandy commented, rolling her eyes for a moment, before glancing back to Diana. "But, what was it like?"

"Horrible," the yellow ranger answered, shuddering as she spoke. "It was like having a big black void at the very centre of what made you you. There was free will there, but every time you tried to do something the Obliving didn't want you to, or if you tried to go against what it was using your body to do, it would smash your mind down against the back of your skull..."

"Ouch," Lily muttered, wincing at what was being said. "That sounds unpleasant."

"That's putting it mildly," Sandy remarked. "That's awful, never mind unpleasant."

* * *

"So, there is a way to get rid of these things," Falco said, looking at the reports in front of him about what had happened on Arybus. "Shame that we can't exploit that knowledge to greater effect."

"It is indeed," Doctor Krengelore, the Galactic Executive replied from the video screen. "But, I have faith that the team will work something out in the immediate future."

"That faith is well placed, Galactic Executive," the Aerobian answered. "They won't fail you."

* * *

"How did it go?"

Looking at the figure behind the desk, the male in the Sableye mask reached up to his face to remove the disguise from where it was, revealing his face to his boss. Placing the item on the desk in front of the shadow covered figure, it was quickly scooped up and held to the light.

"It went well, Sir," the formerly masked figure replied. "I spoke to the masses, just as you requested me to. However, there was a problem. Our meeting was infiltrated by a cadet of Cosmo Force..."

"What?" the shadow covered figure demanded, almost leaping out of his seat. "Who tipped them off about it?"

"However, there's more," the recently masked figure answered. "We placed one of us inside her, hoping that she would wipe out the rest of her team. It turned out that she was one of the so-called Poké Rangers that were created to combat this threat. Somehow, she managed to force it out of her."

"This is problematic," the figure in the shadow covered chair said. "I have heard of them. It is hard not to, the way they have gone about things. Maybe it's time to see exactly what it is that they are capable of."

"You have a plan, Sir?"

"Oh yes," the shadow covered figure replied, smiling to reveal a mouth of white teeth. "I do indeed."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**That's going to have absolutely no repurcussions whatsoever. Really, it isn't...**

**Anyway, that's not the most helpful way of getting rid of it, since it's probably not applicable for about the other 99% of things in the universe.**

**Anyway, a return of the figure in the shadows... Whoever it may be.**

**Okay, thanks for the reviews. They have all been welcomed.**

**That speech convince you that Oblivings are good?**

**Next one is entitled Aura: Part One. The preview is below.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Go on! Please!**

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**Chapter Seven, Aura: Part One, preview.**

**Nick: I hate industrial theft cases.**

**Falco: Romerenko Enterprises reported the theft of several aura amps.**

**Sandy: These things can give the user aura powers.**

**Max: No wonder they were stolen.**

**Evelyn: You drained enough aura power from that being to light up a city for a week.**

**Nick: No wonder I feel on top of the world.**

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**Coming soon.**


	7. Aura: Part One

Chapter Seven. Aura: Part One.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After the adventures on Ralnick, the rangers confiscated some technology from some Psorians, before getting through some intelligence about a cult on the planet Arybus. Moving on over, they soon found the location of the building, where they heard a speech trying to support co-existence with the Oblivings from a figure in a Sableye mask. After that, Diana disguised herself as a member of the cult, going in to listen on the gathering. However, the figure in the Sableye mask infected everyone with an Obliving, including Diana. Going back outside, she attacked the other rangers, managing to fight them to a draw. Yet, she somehow managed to gain some control of herself, transforming into an Obliving to get rid of her problem. Later, Falco spoke to Doctor Krengelore to update him on the situation, while the figure in the Sableye mask reported to his boss..._

_

* * *

_

"That's interesting," Evelyn commented, glancing at the medical scans in front of her. "Really really strange. If I wasn't seeing it in front of me, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Believe what?" Diana asked, sitting up on the bed, shoving the overhead scanner out of the way. "What's so interesting?"

"It is technically impossible," the medical officer continued. "This might be the first time it's ever happened naturally over this short space of time."

"What is it?"

"In giving you this check-up, I have come to the conclusion that your internal scars, the ones on your throat and stomach are quickly healing. There's only a faint trace of them left now."

For a moment, Diana looked across at her, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"I know," she replied, quickly. "You know the morphing ability that I have? The one that I inherited from my father..."

"Well, I did have a vague idea that one of your parents was a Formshifter," Evelyn said. "But, I didn't know whether it was your mother or your father..."

"My mother was human," Diana replied, softly at first, before perking up. "Anyway, because of that transformation ability, I've been able to get rid of the scars. Didn't like the idea of the inside of my body being mangled like that. So, I've been doing that for the last few days. It's starting to stick, I think."

"Oh..." Evelyn said, apparently lost for words. "I see."

"Anything else?" the yellow ranger asked, making to get up from where she was sat. "Because, I'm sure there's something else I could be doing."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

Running down the corridor, the masked figure heard the shouts of the security team behind him, the guards having apparently managed to track him down. Turning, he brought a small silver canister from his belt and tossed it back the way he had come. Again, he started to run, knowing that it was going to explode in the space of several seconds.

He was right on both counts, both on when it exploded and in his judgement of where it would land. The burst of paralyzing spores raked out of the canister, hitting the middle of the security team straight on. That alone was enough to disable them, the challenge of the chase slowly fading away after that.

Reaching down to the pack at his waist, the masked figure checked that the merchandise was safe, that it hadn't been damaged in the way he had fled from the labs of Romerenko Enterprises. To his relief, they were intact. Had they not been, he would really have become drastically annoyed with the security team that had been chasing him, probably to the extent that he would have gone back to them for some retribution.

Yet, they were undamaged, and all that remained was for him to leave the building behind and move them along for the inevitable profit...

* * *

Grimacing in pain, Sandy looked down at the Sandslash in front of her, nodding at it to carry on with what it was doing. Crimson blood ran down the Pokémon's claws as they cut into her arm, but she didn't feel the pain. Pulling the skin back...

"What are you doing?"

Looking up, she saw Lily stood at the door, a surprised expression on her face as she looked over at what was happening.

"Having some internal problems in one of my arms," she replied, casually answering as if she was chatting by the pool. "Just sorting it out."

"Shouldn't you be in the medical bay doing that?" the black ranger asked, coming closer. "Not in the shower."

Shrugging, Sandy just carried on, letting her Pikachu, Yui get a better look at the weaving metal constructs under her skin.

"What do you think?" she asked, looking at the yellow mouse-like Pokémon. "Think you can shock it out, or shall we let Banette see if she can force it out somehow?

"You must have a high pain tolerance," Lily remarked, wincing slightly. "Seriously."

Ignoring her, Sandy tapped a Poké Ball on the bed next to her, releasing a Banette out into the small room. Letting out a laugh, the ghost type Pokémon floated over to the blue ranger, passing her incorporeal arm through the metal to see what was happening inside.

"I didn't know that you kept Pokémon," Lily continued, trying to carry on a conversation. "What are they, pets? Or..."

"Use them for this," Sandy said, shortly. "They're trained to maintain and repair. Is there something that you want, or are you trying to put me off?"

"Just letting you know that Falco's called a meeting in the main briefing room in half an hour," Lily answered. "1200 hours. He's demanding that everyone comes, says that we've got a new assignment."

"Okay, you told me," the blue ranger answered. "Can you please go?"

Rolling her eyes at the insistence, Lily quickly turned to leave, muttering several unpleasant things about her team mate as she did so. Ignoring her, Sandy went back to what she was doing, trying to repair the minor annoyance in her left arm.

"You got it?" she asked, glancing at the Banette. "There's something loose in there, have you...?"

Giving another laugh in reply, the ghost type Pokémon also nodded to back up her point.

"Can you pin it down, lock it into place?"

This time, the Banette shook her head, answering in the negative.

"If that's the case can you move it to a gap and knock it out?"

Unlike the answer to the previous question, her Banette nodded this time. Immediately moving into action, she placed her hand through the skin and metal, pushing the loose part away through the cybernetic limb...

* * *

"So, where are we headed this time?" Nick asked, looking over to Falco. "What's the mission?"

"As much as your enthusiasm is appreciated, Cadet Miele, we're still waiting on Cadet Garcia," the Aerobian replied, coldly. "I'd have thought that one of you would have had a word with her before now about her timekeeping abilities."

Right on cue, the blue ranger came into the room, an apologetic look on her face as she did so.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she muttered, moving into line. "Personal emergency. Had to make some repairs to my system..."

"Well don't let us keep you, Cadet Garcia," the Commandant said, sarcastically. "It's not like there's an emergency on Berisya."

"There's an emergency on Berisya?" Diana asked, ignoring the sarcasm. "What's going on there?"

"Industrial theft," the Aerobian said. "Something that could turn out to be quite a problem unless we act now."

"What was stolen?" Sandy asked, trying to regain some composure after her momentary chastising from a few seconds earlier.

"Romerenko Enterprises reported the theft of several aura amps," Falco continued. "They donate quite heavily to both the Stronghold and Cosmo Force every year, so that offers them some pull. Rather than hire private investigators to track down the culprits, they've asked if some cadets can have a look into it for them. It's in the interest of the general community that we do, to be honest, given the nature of what was stolen."

"Aura amps?" Lily asked, puzzled by the name. "What exactly is it that they do."

"You don't know?" Sandy replied, giving the black ranger a surprised look. "These things can give the user aura powers."

"No wonder they were stolen," Max remarked. "A group of individuals with that kind of power would be a huge threat."

"Not just that," Nick offered. "It might just be a case that they were stolen from the chance of making profit from them. Every serious criminal across the galaxy would be at least a little bit interested in one of them. Another string to the bow, another trick in the box."

"So, it looks like we're going to Berisya then?" Diana asked. "Where do we start?"

"That I leave entirely up to you," Falco answered. "However, there are two strands of investigation I wish for you to pursue. I want at least one of you to go over to Romerenko Enterprises and look at the security videos to try and get an impression of the thief and the theft. Also, question the staff, anyone who saw them. The rest of you can go over to another area of Berisya and go to the infamous club there, The Ace of Spades. It's a veritable haunt for criminals of all kinds. If those amps were going to be sold anywhere on Berisya, it'll be there."

"What if they've gone off planet?" Lily asked. "That's a possibility, right?"

"The problem with that is transporting them all," Falco replied. "Romerenko Enterprises keep these things sealed inside special cases. They can only be removed from the case when they've been implanted into a living being. These cases are specially alarmed for situations like this. If they're taken more than fifty miles away from the place where they were built without the defusion code being activated, the case will heat up and they'll melt on the spot."

"Let me guess," Sandy piped up. "Ace of Spades is less than fifty miles from the place where they were built."

"Correct."

* * *

"Here's one for you," Blister said, tossing his wrench up into the air before catching it again. "What if you were in a relationship with two nubile sensual beings, and one of them wanted to leave you to start a relationship with me? What would you think of that?"

"I'd never speak to you again," Chebek answered, listlessly. "But, since they don't go for engineers, then it's not likely to happen. Is it?"

"You'd never speak to me again?"

"I'm not that comfortable speaking to you now," Chebek muttered, picking up a wrench. "Have you ever hit something with a wrench? Anything living?"

"Nah, just the machines when they start to make that strange sound," Blister answered. "You know, the one where the engines start to squeal, scrape and sound like they're about to pack in?"

"Yeah, I think I know that one," Chebek said. "It happens from time to time. But, thankfully, not often."

"You think we should get Holovision down here?" Blister asked, glancing over at an empty space in middle of the room. "It'd pass the time when we're not doing anything."

"I think I'm just a little upset by the thought that you'd rather watch Holovision than talk to me," Chebek muttered. "Really?"

"Could get some adult entertainment," Blister pointed out. "That'd be different. And it'd fill the gaps in the day..."

Behind them, behind the debate they were having, the five cadets came walking through towards the shuttle, ignoring the two engineers.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Nick asked, looking at the shuttle. "Because, I don't want to do the Romerenko Enterprises trip."

"Okay, okay, we'll work it out on the way down," Max said, cutting the green ranger short. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

"Did I mention that I hate industrial theft cases," Nick complained, as the five of them walked across the plaza towards the large white building in front of them. "It's always so murkily complicated."

"Which is why you volunteered for the Ace of Spades mission," Lily muttered. "You don't have to keep bringing it up."

"Just letting it be known," Nick said, quickly. "That's all."

After much debating, it had been decided that Sandy and Diana were going to go to the Romerenko Enterprises building, while Max, Nick and Lily would go to the Ace of Spades to try and track down any sign of the amps.

"We all know you've heard about the exotic dancers at the Ace of Spades," Diana commented, grinning at him. "That's the real reason you want to go, right?"

"There are exotic dancers?" the green ranger asked, raising an eyebrow. "Brilliant."

"Guess we'll be seeing you in a bit then," Lily commented, before smirking. "When I've dragged these two's jaws off the floor in that club."

"I'm insulted by your lack of faith in my professionalism," Max said. "That said, it'd be..."

"Yeah, we'll come on over when we get the chance," Sandy replied, winking across at the three rangers. "Enjoy it."

* * *

"What I don't get is why they couldn't have forwarded the security footage to us," Diana grumbled as the two of them walked into the office. "I mean... This is inconvenient."

"You know the reason why," Sandy replied. "They're being slightly insulting in questioning the security of our transmission frequency. They don't allow footage of the interiors of their buildings off planet in case it ends up in the wrong hands and they get robbed again."

"You sound annoyed."

Glancing around, the two rangers saw a suited male figure walking out of an office. He was Disastara, a gold furred Poké Alien with an Absol head and claws at the end of his fingers. Like all Absols, he had a magnificent scythe at the top of his head,

"But, you have to understand our policies," he continued. "Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for coming."

"Just doing the duty," Sandy replied. "Are you the managing director?"

"Hounar D'Suyi," the Disastara answered. "I manage the company on the behalf of Sabli Romerenko."

"Cadet Camerons," Diana said, introducing herself. "And that's Cadet Garcia. We came as soon as we could."

* * *

The plan was simple. To divide and conquer the opinion in the Ace of Spades, the three other cadets had split up. Max had decided to go in in uniform, while Lily and Nick were going to go in at a different entrance at a different in plain clothes. With the undoubted animosity towards Cosmo Force in the place, the locals were more likely to open up with strangers who were united against a common enemy. The club itself was a strange place, set on two floors with hover lifts connecting the two areas. While

"Whattaya want?" the male Ursene bartender asked, looking across at Nick and Lily. "We have a special on tonight?"

"I'll have some of that Takari with orange soda," Lily said, gesturing to a clear liquid in a bottle behind the white furred Ursaring-like Poké Alien. "Okay?"

"Can I get a bottle of super bitter Yellow Streak?" Nick asked, hopefully. "You got any of that?"

"Of course," the barman answered. "That'll be twenty credits."

Taking their drinks, the two cadets turned to walk over to a table. Just like its name, Nick's drink was an amber colour with a huge yellow streak straight through the middle of the liquid. Somehow, it stayed there, despite the movement of the rest of the drink as the green ranger took a gulp of it.

"What do you think?" he asked. "If you were selling something illegal, where would you be?"

"One of the dark corners," Lily answered, glancing around the club. "Possibly in the VIP area. If you were going to raid the club, you'd have to get past the guards first, giving whatever's been sold a chance to be gotten rid of."

"Makes sense," Nick said, thoughtfully. "Now, we just need to work out a way to get in there."

* * *

"Ah..." Sandy remarked, looking at the footage. "This thief looks a lot like an Algovic. Obviously he's masked, but there's not a lot of hiding that head shape."

Both of them knew that an Algovic was a Ludicolo-like Poké Alien with a very distinctly shaped head, although neither of them had ever encountered one before, the race being very reclusive as a rule.

"Unless he's wearing a hat to make us think that he's an Algovic," Diana remarked. "Possibility."

"I think you're giving the average criminal too much credit," Sandy commented, taking out her communicator. "Night Hawk, you there?"

"This is Night Hawk," Golde's voice said, speaking through the system. "What's up, Cadet Garcia?"

"Can you relate out the information that the thief may well be an Algovic?" Sandy asked. "That's my opinion."

"And mine," Diana piped up. "He looks like an Algovic. Either that, or he's wearing a really strange hat underneath his mask."

"I'll pass that information on," Golde said. "Night Hawk out."

* * *

"Here comes our wayward comrade," Nick remarked, seeing the crowds react at the other side of the room as Max came in, wearing his uniform. "Only, he's not our comrade."

"This makes no difference," Lily said, angrily. "We still have no idea how we're going to get into the VIP section and check it out."

"Actually, I've been thinking about that," Nick grinned. "Just follow my lead and we'll get in there."

Getting to his feet, he started to walk towards the area slightly above them. Pausing for a moment, Lily made the decision to get up and follow him.

* * *

"That's a Stun Canister," Diana said, gesturing at the item the thief had thrown at the security team. "On impact, it releases a cloud of Stun Spore over anyone in range and takes them out of commission."

"I did know that," Sandy remarked. "Aren't those items built here in Romerenko Enterprises?"

"He must have stolen some from the labs," Diana commented. "Have to ask D'Suyi about that when we see him again."

"Strange that that wasn't reported," the blue ranger said. "Very strange indeed."

"Maybe it was missed," Diana offered. "Maybe..."

"Maybe maybe maybe," Sandy interrupted. "That's about the only explanation that there is. Unless someone high up in the company was in on it, and that's just ridiculous."

* * *

"Sorry, no admission!"

The bark came from the Choklian security guard who was blocking their passage into the VIP area, the brawny Machoke-like Poké Alien bringing up a thick arm to stop them moving inside.

"Man, you got to help us," Nick said, a tinge of panic in his voice. "You see that cadet down there? He's chasing us..."

"Why should I care?" the Choklian asked. "You're not getting into hide there."

"He's chasing her," the green ranger continued, wrapping an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Come on, man. She made a few mistakes in her past, but there's still a warrant out for her arrest. I love her, man!"

"Still not interested."

"I just need something to fight the guy off with if it comes down to it," Nick said, still sounding desperate. "Something that he'll never see coming, something that, if it comes down to it, won't leave any marks that'll link back to me. Some sort of weapon, you catch my drift."

"There's plenty of places on Berisya," the Choklian replied. "Why here?"

"We've got plenty of money," Lily suddenly piped up. "That's no object."

Studying them for a moment, the Choklian finally relented. Giving them the order to wait, he turned and slowly started to walk back into the area.

"Like the idea that you're my saviour," Lily said, an amused tone in her voice. "And that Max is the bad guy here."

"Sssh," Nick insisted. "Don't worry about it, everything will be fine."

* * *

"What do you want?"

Unlike when he had served Nick and Lily earlier, there was no trace of friendliness in the voice of the Ursene barman as he came over to Max.

"A better attitude might be a start," the red ranger muttered, sarcastically. "Or, if you're fresh out of that..."

"Wise cracker, huh?" the Ursene said, annoyed. "Order something or get out."

"Don't suppose you can help me, huh?" Max asked, giving the barman a smile. "I'm looking for someone..."

"Aren't we all."

Glancing around, the cadet saw a white skinned Geranian, a Bayleef-like Poké Alien smiling at him while drinking a clear liquid from a glass. He could see that she was wearing a short crimson coloured dress, the hem barely reaching the top of her thighs.

"That uniform real?" she asked, a seductive tone in her voice.

"Yes."

"Oh," the Geranian said, getting up to leave. "Never mind then."

"See, you're preventing people from offering the galaxy's oldest profession," the Ursene grunted. "Damn Cosmo Force coming in and ruining business."

"Yeah, I'm not interested in that," he replied. "Just after a drink."

* * *

"Algovic?" D'Suyi asked, looking up at the two cadets. Since showing them to the archives of the building, he had retreated to his office which was where they had gone after completing their tasks. "That was my thought when I saw the footage. But, you can't be sure."

"Any Algovic ever work here?" Diana wondered. "Ever?"

"Nah, we don't hire them," D'Suyi replied. "They're not great workers as a race. Too content to spend their time singing and dancing. I'm not saying that you'll not get one every so often who turns out to be a focused and driven being, but mainly..."

"Isn't that racism?" Sandy asked, before reconsidering. "Although, I do kinda see what you mean."

"So, you can't think of any Algovic who would do something like this?" Diana asked. "That's sad, it would have made our job much easier."

"They must have had an inside source," D'Suyi commented. "Anything else?"

"Actually, there was one thing," Sandy said, bringing up the other thing. "Stun Canisters. You make them here, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind knowing how the thief got hold of some of them," she replied. "Especially since they're not really on general sale yet. The assumption that I made was that they were stolen from here, but that was never reported."

"That's right," the Disastara answered. "We only recently noticed the theft, because our worries were more with the aura implants that were removed from the premises."

"Makes sense," Diana commented. "Just out of interest, I don't suppose you could do us a favour with something, can you?"

"Depends what it is."

* * *

"Renzo," the Choklian said, alerting the attention of the Algovic sat in one of the booths. "Some customers for you."

Looking at the two cadets, the figure paused for a moment, before gesturing for them to come over. Unlike the traditional image of a Ludicolo, he had red skin with white spots, while the crown on his head was still green. The beak in the middle of his face was white, while his eyes were black. He wore a purple suit with a white belt around the middle.

"As you wish, Sir," the guard answered turning to call Nick and Lily over. It didn't take long for them to come, the two of them sitting down at the table across from Renzo.

"What can I do for you?" the Algovic asked, looking at them. "Anything in particular?"

"We're on the run from Cosmo Force," Nick said, quickly. "Well, I'm not... She is. They want her for murder."

"Ah, the most senseless of all crimes," Renzo remarked, shaking his head. "I'm sure there was a good reason."

"Long story short, we need a means to fight them off," Nick continued. "But, getting caught with a weapon can be incriminating. So, we need another solution. Is there anything that you can do for us?"

"Maybe," the Algovic mused. "But first, answer my question. Why are you getting involved in this? What is she to you?"

"We're in love, Mr. Renzo," Lily piped up. "He's seen past my past. He's a really great guy..."

"Really?" Renzo asked, his eyes flickering across the two of them. "Don't suppose that I can contest the course of true love. If that's what it is... Of course there will be a price."

"Price is no object," Nick replied. "If that's the only obstacle, then..."

"Kiss her."

The sudden request came out of the blue, startling both of them. The two cadets looked across at the Algovic, not sure if they had heard him right.

"Excuse me?" Nick asked, looking confused. "It's the music, I didn't quite hear that."

"Just checking," Renzo smirked. "You wouldn't believe how many stories I've heard similar to yours that have turned out to be complete mrek. Need to be sure. Besides, I get a kick out of watching complete strangers display random acts of passion."

"Ha!" Lily exclaimed. "I was worried for a moment there. You doubt what we're telling you?"

Turning to the green ranger, she began to lean her head towards his, Nick quickly mirroring the action. As they engaged in the action, Renzo's smirk grew wider by the second. He had expected Lily's snout to be a problem, but Nick didn't seem to have any problem with it, managing as best he could. When they finished, he brought his hands together and began to applaud brightly.

"Bravo," he said, getting to his feet. "Come with me. I do most of my business in the alley outside. It's quieter and there's no cameras."

With the Algovic moving away from them, the two cadets looked at each other, Nick quickly giving her a nervous grin.

"That's a change," he remarked. "Seeing you act like a girl for once."

"Don't spoil it," Lily retorted. "It'd really wreck our cover if I had to throw you off the balcony."

"Heh," Nick said, managing a laugh. "That's the real you back again."

Not saying anything else, the two of them began to follow Renzo out of the VIP area and towards one of the exits.

* * *

"These are freshly acquired aura amps," Renzo explained, showing the two the case which he had rested atop a rubbish container. "Place one of them in your body, they'll generate artificial aura which can be used as a potentially lethal weapon. I've got one in my system, they're pretty good."

Glancing around for a moment, he finally settled his eyes on an empty bottle at the other end of the alley. Taking a deep breath, he brought up a hand, before aiming at the bottle with his palm raised upright.

"Observe," he said, the surface of the skin on his palm starting to glow with a blue energy. Focusing, he unleashed a shimmering blue orb towards the bottle, the projectile smashing through the small glass object and completely decimating it. "That is just a small example of what can be done with this stuff."

"Very useful if we want to smash any bottles," Lily commented. "What's the upper end of the power scale like?"

"It's potentially limitless," Renzo answered. "Depends on how good you are with it. In the past, Aura Masters have been known to be able to bring down spacecraft with this stuff. And, it's not regular aura either, it's artificial stuff which is much more corrosively powerful."

"That's great," Nick said. "What sort of prices are we looking at here?"

"Half a million credits," Renzo answered. "Each."

"Hmm..." Lily mused. "Seems good. What do they usually go for?"

"Never been anything like this on the black market before," Renzo said. "Normally you can only get them clinically implanted. There, you're looking at three times that."

"So, they're stolen?" Nick wondered. "Interesting."

"You got a problem with that?" Renzo asked, raising a metaphorical eyebrow. "Because we don't have to make a deal."

"No problem with that," Nick said, shrugging. "If anything, you're making things easier for us."

"What with?"

"A confession!"

Turning at the shout, Renzo saw Max coming out of the club, a Cosmo Blaster trained on him.

"He has a point," Lily remarked, dryly. "You've been done, Renzo. You're under arrest."

"Ah, mrek!" Renzo said, throwing his hands up in the air. "You're good. You know that?"

"Thanks, it's always nice to hear that," Nick replied. "So, you going to come quietly?"

"Well, there is that," the Algovic mused. "Or..."

Lowering his voice, his hands fell to his waist, hitting something on his belt. As he did so, a cloud of yellow spores erupted out from somewhere, covering the entire group. Feeling them wash over them, the three rangers immediately fell to the ground, paralyzed by the blast.

"... That could happen," Renzo chuckled, unaffected by the cloud. "So glad that I took samples of the antidote right now."

His mirth completely audible, he began to make his way towards the exit with the case of amps, leaving the three stricken cadets alone in the alley.

* * *

"Where are they?"

The question came from Diana as she and Sandy forced their way through the crowds in the Ace of Spades. After having left Romerenko Enterprises, they had made their way over to the club, determined to meet up with their comrades.

"I don't know," Sandy called. "But, this music is pretty awesome. White Saturday. How cool is that?"

"Don't rush to keep your mind on the job," Diana muttered, still looking around the room before spotting a familiarly shaped figure in the distance. "Hey, Sand."

"Yeah?"

"I've just seen an Algovic."

Glancing around, the blue ranger saw him as well, the distant figure of Renzo making his way out of an exit.

"So where are those three then?" she asked, looking over at Diana. "You get after him, I'll see if I can track down Max and the others in here."

"Okay, will do," the yellow ranger answered, turning to go after the Algovic in the distance, forcing her way through the crowds.

* * *

Making her way outside, Diana immediately managed to get another view of the Algovic, not hesitating in starting to run after him.

"Excuse me, Sir!"

She saw him turn on the spot, his eyes widening as he saw her run towards him. A sign of him recognising the uniform, she thought, dryly. As she moved closer, his hand dropped to his waist, activating the yellow cloud of spores, something that she ran straight into...

... And was completely unaffected by. Renzo's eyes widened as she broke through the cloud and kicked him in the body, the blow hurling him back onto the ground.

"That's impossible!" he exclaimed, picking himself up.

* * *

"You okay?" Sandy asked, giving the injection to Nick. Both Max and Lily had already been given the antidote to the paralysing spores and were on their way to a full recovery. "When we saw that he'd stolen this stuff from Romerenko Enterprises, I thought that he might have kept it. Which was why we got some antidote from the guy running the place."

"Not a bad idea," Max said, rubbing the back of his head. "In fact, I'm glad that you did. Where's Diana?"

"She's chasing after that Algovic," Sandy answered. "Don't worry, it's not like she can't take care of herself."

"Yeah, but he's not going to be easy to take down," Lily pointed out. "Even if she's immune to his Stun Spore trick, he can still do whatever an Algovic can. And he has his aura powers."

"Guess we better go on and catch up with her then," Nick grunted, the feeling returning in his mouth, allowing him to speak. "Let's get to it."

* * *

Ducking under a kick from the yellow ranger, Renzo smashed his hand into the ground and sent a shock wave of aura erupting out around him, the blast knocking her off her feet. Before she could hit the ground, he spun around and kicked her out of the air. Jumping back up again, still lively despite the two attacks she had taken, the yellow ranger morphed her fist into a huge chunk of rock and went to try and beat him down. Realising the danger, Renzo erected a huge shield of aura around his body, the wall protecting him from damage. As Diana's attack smashed impotently against the wall, he directed all the energy from the wall of aura out, knocking her off her feet again.

"I love these aura powers," he muttered, taking a step towards her. As he advanced above her, she threw up a leg and kicked him in the face, before he grabbed her leg up and tossed her through the air.

Landing hard on the ground, the yellow ranger rolled to a stop in front of her four arriving team mates, Max immediately reaching down to help her up.

"You okay?" he asked, quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Diana answered, taking a deep breath. "But, he's tough."

"Never mind how tough he is, let's get him!" Lily growled. "I've got a score to settle with him."

"Really, what did he do?" Sandy asked, the interest palpable in her voice. "What score is this?"

To that, Renzo let out a frenzied laugh, before launching a huge orb of aura at the five cadets, the large blast exploding at the ground beneath their feet to knock them off balance.

Recovering the fastest, Lily jumped to her feet and ran at Renzo, throwing a punch at him which the Algovic made to dodge. Before she could attack again, he punched her in the stomach and blasted her with a stream of aura, hurling her back against a wall.

Having seen that, Sandy came in, trying to kick the Algovic in the face. Ducking underneath her foot, he tried to tackle her, only for Max to hurl a ball of fire at him, the red hot attack startling him. Turning, he hurled an Aura Sphere at the red ranger, his attack catching him square in the stomach and knocking him onto his back.

With Max out of the battle, Renzo made to turn his attention back to Sandy, only to see two identical blue rangers in front of him, both of them looking at each other in surprise. Before he could react, Nick charged in and hit him with a flying kick. Reacting, the Algovic turned and grabbed the green ranger by the shoulders, before tossing him to the ground.

"Wait your turn!" he roared, before glancing over at the two Sandy's. "And now to solve this..."

Letting his sentence hang, he brought up both hands and hurled a barrage of Aura Spheres towards the two blue rangers, neither of them able to avoid them. Upon impact, both of them were thrown to the ground, one of the versions of Sandy turning back into Diana as she let out a groan of pain.

"What was the point of that?" Sandy asked, looking over at the yellow ranger. "I really want to know."

"Thought it might confuse him," Diana groaned.

* * *

Across from them, Renzo let out a huge laugh of pride, surveying his handiwork.

"If I knew it would be this easy to defeat you, I wouldn't have run," he remarked, crowing over his victory. "I just love these aura powers. The way that the energy is flowing through my veins after this little workout is just... Intoxicating."

With that, Nick got to his feet, unsteady as they may have been. Looking over at Renzo with a mix of anger and determination, he spoke up.

"Guess the one word you shouldn't have said there," he said, before running towards him. As he ran, the green ranger changed, his skin turning green as he raced towards his enemy. The ends of his fingers extended out into curved claws, leaves burst out from his forearms, as well as a larger one from his forehead.

"What the...?" Lily exclaimed, struggling up into a sitting position. "That's new."

"Guess we know what Nick's been concealing from us," Diana commented. "Isn't that a Geckile form?"

"Looks like it," Sandy said. "Although, it's almost half human, half Geckile."

Indeed, just as she had described it, Nick's face, hair and clothing remained the same, apart from his now green skin. Coming to a stop, he slashed out with the leaves on his arms, cutting into Renzo's chest. This time, the Algovic let out a groan of pain, surprised at the speed and power of the attack. Growling, he brought up his hands to launch a beam of aura at Nick...

... Only for the green ranger to leap above it, gracefully evading the blast. Barely a second passed before he kicked Renzo in the face, sending him staggering. With him on the ropes, Nick sprang forward and dug both blades into Renzo's chest, focusing heavily into pulling off an energy draining attack.

"I get it!" Max exclaimed, watching the process happen in front of him. All four of them could see the blue aura energy being siphoned away from Renzo, Nick taking the stuff into his own system as a result. "That's pretty clever."

"How much do you think he can take?" Sandy wondered, as still the blades remained embedded in Renzo's chest. Nick's skin was almost glowing blue at this point from the amount of aura that he had taken in, a sure sign that something was going to give sooner or later...

* * *

That something was Renzo. The Algovic let out a massive convulsion, the result of which was enough to throw Nick off him and send the green ranger away from him.

"My aura amp!" he roared, not laughing any more. "You burnt it out!"

Not listening to him, Nick's eyes began to twitch, his head jerking to the side twice involuntarily.

"Wow," he muttered, sounding distant as he spoke. "You were full of it."

"I'm going to destroy you now!" Renzo shouted. "I don't care about anything else."

"Then I guess it's time to do this," Nick said, transforming back into his human form, before bringing up his morpher. "Cosmosis!"

"Cosmosis!" shouted the other four rangers, all doing the same.

As one, the five of them transformed into their ranger suits, all taking up fighting stances. Forgetting that he was outnumbered, Renzo charged towards them, throwing a punch at Nick. Ducking under it, the green ranger saw a black covered leg flash through the air above his head, kicking the Algovic in the stomach.

"You're welcome," Lily said, as Diana leaped through the air towards Renzo, her fist glowing with a bright white light.

"Mega Punch!" the yellow ranger shouted, slamming her fist into Renzo's back. At her attack, the Algovic flew through the air like he'd been shot out of a cannon, completely taken out by the force of the blow.

"Nice hit," Max remarked, the five moving towards the downed Poké Alien. "You want to surrender yet, Renzo?"

"It's not going to happen!" the Algovic declared, glaring at them. "Nothing you do will make that happen. That's a promise, rangers!"

"Max, I'm going to get him!" Nick exclaimed. "Think I know what my attack is..."

Letting it hang, he ran forward, jumping into the air. As he made the leap, a pair of glowing green blades emerged out of his forearms, the green ranger slashing out at Renzo with his brand new attack to great effect.

"Leaf Blade!"

Raking them through him one final time, Nick felt Renzo stagger back, a snarl of pain erupting out of his mouth.

"You're not going anywhere!" Nick exclaimed. "Nothing escapes from us."

"Guess there's a first time for everything then," Renzo taunted, taking something from his pocket. Although none of them could see what it was, the five cadets did see him push a button on it, a high pitched wail immediately erupting out of the thing.

The next thing they knew, a huge mechanoid charged out of one of the buildings to the right of the group, completely demolishing the front of the structure. Still laughing, Renzo got into his machine, his mirth directed at the rangers.

"Now, what can you do?" he asked, settling into his seat in the cockpit. His mechanoid was shaped like a gold coloured Lucario wearing silver armour. Atop its head, it had the crown of a Ludicolo, while there was also a large metal tail at the back of the robot.

"Only one thing to do," Max said, looking at the sky. "We need the Cosmo Fighters!"

* * *

As the five fighters all swept down over the battlefield, the transportation systems immediately activated to bring the rangers into the cockpit, where Nick immediately gave an order.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation."

In response to the command, they transformed into their Pokémon forms, before the five new Zords also began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

In the cockpit of his mechanoid, Renzo could only laugh as he moved his machine over to attack, the robot punching the Cosmo Megazord in the chest. Not taking much damage from the attack, the Cosmo Megazord retaliated with a kick, knocking it back.

"Your giant robot is no match for ours!" Lily yelled, activating the controls in front of her. "Shadow Uppercut!"

With the Megazord responding to her commands, it shot towards Renzo's mechanoid and, with the fist glowing with a dark black energy, landed a powerful blow that hurled it up into the air. From the cockpit of the machine, Renzo let out a shout of fear as his ride span out of control, before starting the descent, falling towards the ground.

"Algovics weren't meant to fly," Diana commented. "Time to try a new attack. Giga Slam!"

Giving the order, the yellow ranger felt the Megazord charge forward, its head glowing with a bright white light as it leaped into the air and crashed a massive headbutt into the chest of the mechanoid. Inside the cockpit of their enemy, Renzo had stopped laughing and was now seething, driving his mechanoid on. In doing so, the rangers could see the dents in the armour, the damage having been caused by the powerful attacks it had been hit with.

"Or get hit like that," Sandy said. "Let's see if I got one..."

Pausing for a moment, the blue ranger pushed a button in front of her, before the Porygon arm came up, shooting out a blue beam of energy, the blast hitting the mechanoid in the already damaged areas.

"Cool, a Cyber Pulse," the blue ranger remarked. "That did some damage."

Just as she had said, sparks were rising up from the broken parts of Renzo's machine, the movements becoming more laboured by the second.

"Guess it's time to finish it off," Max said. "Anyone want to do the honours?"

"I'll go for it," Nick remarked, eagerly. "Star Blade! Now!"

Immediately, the Star Blade appeared in the hand of the Cosmo Megazord, before being directed into delivering a powerful slash against the mechanoid.

"This isn't over!" Renzo roared. "I'll see you again some day, rangers!"

"Not likely," Nick said, dryly. "Star Blade Assault!"

Reacting to his order, the Cosmo Megazord brought the weapon up high, the blade glowing with a bright white energy, before it slashed out several times, the powerful finishing move completely destroying the mechanoid in a massive ball of flames.

"And that's a wrap!" the green ranger exclaimed, dusting his hands together. "Let's go grab that card containing Renzo, return the stuff to Romerenko Enterprises and get the hell out of here."

"Ah, Nick?" Lily asked, speaking up. "I think there's some stuff we might need to talk about first."

"Yeah," the green ranger replied, grinning under his helmet. "If you want to tell me I'm the best you've ever kissed, then I think we can get it out of the way right now."

"I think she was referring to the Geckile thing," Diana commented. "But, that sounds way more interesting now you put it like that."

* * *

"I'm sure that this is a complete over-reaction," Nick said, sat in the medical bay. "I mean, I feel fine. Better than fine, I'm brilliant."

"You've drained enough aura power from that being to light up a city for a week," Evelyn said, looking at him in a stern way. "If that's the unit of measurement you want to use. Alternatives are that it could fuel the Night Hawk for a year, power a communications device for fifty centuries or make one of those portable fans work until the end of time."

"No wonder I feel on top of the world," Nick replied, a huge grin on his face. "It's awesome. Wonder if I'm the first ever Poké Ranger to have aura powers... I'll have to ask Techno 9, she's been brushing up on ranger lore recently."

"A machine that wants to learn," the medical officer remarked, softly. "A thousand years ago, that would have been regarded as trouble."

"Yeah, times have moved on," the green ranger replied, getting up. "I'll be seeing you around... Although, hopefully not, if you get my drift."

"A successful conclusion to the mission, then," Falco said, looking across at the five cadets in front of him. "Congratulations. And, I take it that the stolen merchandise was returned to the rightful owners?"

"Handed right back to Romerenko Enterprises, Sir," Max answered. "It wasn't that tough to track down."

"Although one was burnt out, Sir," Nick added. "Unfortunately, I couldn't help it."

"I'm sure that the rightful owners will understand," Falco said. "On that note, Cadet Miele, I hear that you absorbed quite a lot of Aura energy into your system during the mission..."

"That's how one of the implants was burnt out," Diana pointed out. "But, if he hadn't, we'd have all been in serious trouble."

"Never mind that," the Aerobian replied, brushing away her comments. "I assume that you know the dangers of what could have happened in absorbing that much Aura? Especially since the energy created by those implants isn't the natural stuff which is generated and wielded by Anubians. It's artificial, that makes it more potently dangerous to the system when a lot of it is taken on in a short space of time."

"I'm fine, Sir!" Nick answered, saluting his commanding officer. "In fact, I'm better than fine. I feel fantastic."

"Apart from the obvious flaws," Lily muttered, glancing over at Diana. "Right?"

"Anyway," Falco said, cutting in before the yellow ranger could say anything. "In the meantime, we are required to return to the Stronghold for something. I've instructed Golde to set a course for there."

"What's the nature of our return to the Stronghold?" Sandy asked. "Sir?"

"That is something you will be told about closer to the time, Cadet Garcia," the Aerobian replied. "For now, I suggest that you all get some rest. Dismissed."

At the command, the five of them began to file out of the briefing room, Nick raising up a hand to absentmindedly scratch at his neck. What he didn't notice were the light blue coloured veins that were starting to appear under his skin, each of them shimmering brightly...

* * *

"Sir!"

Looking up to the speaker in front of him, the figure sat in the shadow covered chair waited for him to continue with what he had to say. When nothing came, he spoke up angrily.

"What is it?" he demanded. "What's the report?"

"The amps were recovered, Sir," the Poké Alien replied, looking scared for a moment, before recovering some composure. "Most of them were intact, there was one that was burnt out..."

"Yes, yes, I don't care about that," the being in the shadows answered, angrily. "What about those that got them back?"

"Five cadets of Cosmo Force," his underling answered. "Just as we suspected, those are the ones that are trying to stop the plan."

"Mr. D'Suyi," the shadow being said, in a voice that implied he was rapidly losing his patience. "Do you know how they are travelling?"

"This was looked into," D'Suyi said, speaking very quickly to avoid feeling the wrath of his boss. "They're travelling on a ship named the Night Hawk. It's registered to Cosmo Force, so you can't attack it directly without there being some serious reprisals."

"I can't?" the boss answered, dryly. "I wouldn't anyway. Why would I have any possible reason to do it? Not when I can get someone far far beneath me, someone with no link to me at all to do it. I think... Summon the Tyrannikings. Pay them good money to attack the Night Hawk, offer them bonuses if they bring back proof that everyone on board has been wiped out."

"At once, Sir," D'Suyi answered, turning to leave the room. "No expense will be spared."

* * *

To Be Continued...

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Second two parter of the season, but there aren't going to be that many of them. Anyway...**

**It looks like Nick might have some cause to worry. Nothing like that ends well, although this might. But, you'll have to wait and find out.**

**It's all going to kick off next chapter anyway...**

**Thanks for the reviews. All welcomed.**

**And, if you're looking for some extra ranger action, check out Forever Red. I think Nikitca's managed more screen time in that than she did in Genesis Overload. But, that's fun entertainment for the whole family.**

**The next one is the second part of Aura. Preview below.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please...**

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* * *

**

**Chapter Eight, Aura: Part Two, preview.**

**Nick: I don't feel so good.**

**Evelyn: I told you this would happen.**

**Payne: We're under attack.**

**Falco: It's the Tyrannikings. Space pirates.**

**Max: The Night Hawk's in trouble and we're one ranger down.**

**Evelyn: If I had to have a guess, I'd say he was suffering from aura induced nightmares.**

**

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**

**Coming soon.**


	8. Aura: Part Two

Chapter Eight. Aura: Part Two.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_With Diana having recovered from her earlier afflictions and Sandy doing some manual repairs to her system, the rangers were dispatched to the planet Berisya to investigate the theft of some aura amps. Splitting up, Sandy and Diana went to the headquarters of Romerenko Enterprises where they met Hounar D'Suyi, while Nick, Max and Lily went to a club named the Ace of Spades where Lily and Nick managed to trick their way into meeting up with Renzo, an Algovic who had stolen the amps. Although they caught him with the goods, they, along with Max were taken by surprise and Renzo managed to get away. However, all five rangers managed to catch up with him and eventually beat him after Nick transformed into his Geckile form and drained the aura from him. After the battles, D'Suyi met up with the figure in the shadows..._

_

* * *

_

"Mr. Samedi."

The statement came from the being that had just walked into the dark office, the figure in the shadows showing a mouth full of white teeth at him in a smile.

"Mitch Grey," he said, softly. "How nice to see you again. Thank you for coming, I see that D'Suyi managed to relay my message over to you."

"That he did."

It had only been the fourth time that Samedi had met the being in front of him, the dark blue skinned Tyranitar-like Poké Alien wearing a black leather jacket and trousers of the same design and colour. Across the back of his jacket, the word Tyrannikings was heavily visible in large red letters. The previous three times that he had met him had been mixed to say the least. The first time, Mitch had tried to kill him. The second time, Samedi had nearly executed him after the events of their first meeting. The third time, Mitch had sworn an oath of loyalty to him on behalf of his group of space pirates, the Tyrannikings.

"But, I sense your discontent," Samedi continued. "What's the problem?"

"I don't like dealing with that spineless mound of fur," Mitch grunted. "Although, I think we can help you with your problem."

"You are aware that this is a Cosmo Force ship?" Samedi asked. "That doesn't put you off, does it?"

"Nah, we can make it look like an airlock failure after," Mitch answered. "Keeping the heat off us and getting rid of a problem for you."  
"Make sure that you do," Samedi growled. "If you fail, don't let me find you."

He paused for a moment, before clapping his hands together and starting to speak again.

"Oh, and there's just one more thing," he said. "Just something to ensure that I can trust you a whole lot more."

Right on cue, an Obliving leaped from the shadows and clamped itself down over Mitch's face, the Tyrock immediately trying to dislodge it, but with little avail...

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"Okay, it's time for you to spill."

"Possibly not an apt metaphor in the mess hall," Diana commented, as Nick raised an eyebrow at Lily's question.

"What?" asked the green ranger. "When you say spill, I wouldn't mind knowing what you mean."

"Geckile," the black ranger replied. "Where'd you pull that trick from?"

"It's not a trick," Nick answered. "Just more of a freak of nature."

"Bit harsh on yourself," Sandy mused. "What happened?"

"Well, it's a bit of a long story," he said, musing over the question. "It happened a few years ago now on Forestrin..."

"Forestrin?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "I've heard of that place... It's a big forest, right? The whole planet covered in trees, leaves, fauna... I'm on the right lines here, right?"

"Yeah," Nick answered. "That's pretty much the case. And that's what I'm going to leave you with. It's private, it's staying that way. Most of you guys have stuff in your past that wants leaving there. Can you respect my wishes for my stuff to stay that way as well?"

"Nope, still want you to spill," Lily replied, glaring at him. "Come on!"

"I haven't noticed you volunteering anything about yourself, Lily," Nick retorted. "I mean, what's that dirty great big thing that the Mystigar wanted to take you out for."  
"Nah, that's private," the black ranger answered.

"There you go," he replied. "Mine is as well."

"On the one hand, it does explain where you get that energy draining ability from," Sandy mused. "What I don't get is why you don't fight in that form. It's got to be stronger than your human one."

"That I'll answer," Nick replied, reaching down to pick up his tray. "I just prefer to fight in this appearance. I was born this way, and if the worst happens, I intend to die this way as well."

With that, he turned to head towards the trash disposal areas on the other side of the room, leaving the other four rangers alone.

"Touchy, isn't he?" Diana remarked. "Think he has a point though. I'd hate it if I got killed in action and I wasn't in my regular body. Especially if I was a Sludgeron. How they deal with their dead is awful. Just leave them to burn in massive pits. The smell is terrible."

"They're massive piles of sludge," Lily said, dryly. "What do you expect?"

* * *

"Just another seven hours to the Stronghold," Sandy commented, walking into the exercise room where the other rangers were currently in the middle of some down time. "Nice to get some relaxation, right? Or what passes for it in this place."

"Yeah, more or less," Max said, over lifting some weights in the corner of the room. "You want a view of the city and a bottle of Takari, then you should have stayed elsewhere."

"Not criticising it," the blue ranger answered, walking over to him. "The opposite in fact, I was..."

Pausing she reached out and took the weight out of Max's hands, balancing it easily in one hand.

"... Making a valid point," she finished, winking at him. "You want this back?"

"Yeah, you're making me feel insecure," Max commented, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Don't drop it."

"Why would I drop it?" she asked, feigning a puzzled look. "I'm not going to do that, am I? Think Falco might have something to say if I damage the weights."

"What do you think he might say if you drop it on his throat?" Lily asked, looking over from where she was battling away with the melee combat simulator. "Might be slightly less annoyed about that?"

In the middle of the room, Nick and Diana were doing much the same, only working on their unarmed combat skills. While all of the other stuff around them was going on, Nick threw a kick at the yellow ranger who blocked it with both hands before trying to twist him to the ground. As the green ranger tried to recover, Diana hit him in the face with the heel of her hand, forcing a yelp of pain from him.

"Block faster, huh?" she called, looking at him clutching his nose. "Or that'll happen."

"Jeez, that hurt!" Nick complained, glancing down at his hand. After the blow from the yellow ranger, blood stained his skin having spurted from his nose. "Huh, I don't normally bleed that quickly."

"Aww, is someone hurt?" Diana asked, still completely psyched up for the training session. "Come on, take it like a Geckile."

Snarling in anger, Nick flung himself at Diana, throwing a kick at her head while turning into his Geckile form. Struck by the power blow, the yellow ranger promptly hit the ground, letting out a choked gasp of agony.

"Woah Nick, chill!" Max said, moving over to the small combat arena where the two rangers were almost ready to go at each other.

"Why?" the green ranger demanded. "Where's her funny joke now? Come on, Diana, I'm just waiting for something to come out now."

"I'm going to rip you to pieces!" Diana snarled, getting up to her feet. "That funny enough for you?"

"Oh, laugh a minute," Nick retorted. "You want to go? You want to..."

"Calm down!" Max repeated, stepping closer to the two. "Or I'm going to start throwing fire balls around. You want that, Gecky?"

"Err... Nick?" Sandy asked, watching the green ranger touch his head with two fingers, a pained look on his face. She had reached down to check a sample of his blood, a splash of it on her finger. "Hate to tell you this, but your blood is glowing. Glowing blue."

"I don't feel so good," Nick muttered, not really hearing her. "Guys, can you do me a favour?"

"What's that?" Lily asked, walking over to see what was going on. "He doesn't look so hot."

"Give Evelyn a call..." the green ranger muttered, before keeling over backwards into unconsciousness. The thick blue mat let out a whistle as he hit it, suppoting his weight with minimal fuss.

"Think he's being dramatic?" Diana asked, folding her arms. "Or..."

"Let's get him over to the medical bay!" Sandy shouted, cutting the yellow ranger off.

* * *

"So, that's the problem," Max remarked, looking over to where Nick lay on one of the beds, twitching violently. "Can you help him?"

"I told you this would happen," Evelyn commented, shaking her head. "Well, I told him. Does he listen, of course he doesn't. What do I know, really? Fifty years of medical expertise, but apparently he knows better. What a..."

"Can you not be so annoying about it?" Max demanded. "And see if you can work out what's wrong with him?"

"I know what's wrong with him," Evelyn replied, snidely. "If I had to have a guess, I'd say he was suffering from aura induced nightmares."

"And, you've seen plenty of cases of that?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes. "I bet that's right up there with laser burns, stab marks, broken bones..."

"When he walked out of here, I did some research," the medical officer retorted. "This is the reason that those aura amps aren't on the market yet. Generating too much of the stuff into your system can result in this happening. You fall into a coma, you start to suffer horrific visions while in there."

"Is he going to live through it?" Sandy asked, casually. "Because..."

"He has a good chance," Evelyn answered. "I'd rate them about fifty fifty. Although there's only a twenty percent chance of that."

"I'm sorry," Diana piped up. "I know your race are famed as medics, but is that the best that you can come up with. I mean..."

"I can only offer my judgement in this situation," Evelyn replied. "If you want a guess, then I suggest that you ask Doctor Katongo to predict the future. Because, it's just as likely to be accurate."

As she finished speaking, the entire ship shook violently, the sound of explosions ringing out across the hull. For a brief moment, the lights in the medical bay expired, before returning on.

"What's going on?" Max asked. "Were we just hit with something?"

* * *

_Sitting up on the grass, Nick rubbed his head. All the pain that had previously gone through it had vanished, allowing him to think clearly. In those few moments before when he had been locked in combat with Diana, a rush of blood had caused him to flip out. To transform into the Geckile form which he so disliked. From then on, it had all gone fuzzy, rendering him unable to recall much detail._

_"Other than the pain," he said, his voice loud in the silence. "That's something I remember."_

_His head was still clear. With that in mind, he got up and started to walk, taking in his surroundings. He could see that he was in the middle of a meadow, the entire grass area surrounded by large thick trees._

_"I remember this," Nick said, shocked. "This... This is the planet Forestrin."_

_Behind him, he sensed movement. Turning, the green ranger saw something vanish into the trees, a flicker of sparkling blue shadow._

_"That wasn't here the last time I came here," he muttered, taking a fighting stance. "Come and have a go if you think you're tough enough!"_

_

* * *

_

"We're under attack," Payne said, as another laser blast hit the Night Hawk, the attack sending shock waves through the entire ship.

"No mrek Merlock," Golde remarked, irritated. "Someone's feeling brave. Attacking a ship like this is just asking for trouble."

Right on cue, Falco strode into the cockpit, an angered look on his face at what was going on.

"In case it's escaped your notice!" he roared. "We're under attack. Raise shields, prepare to return fire if need be, and try to get us out of here."

"No can do, sir," Golde answered, sounding worried as he tapped away at a few buttons in front of him. "We're being blocked."

"What?" the Aerobian Commandant demanded. "That's not good."

"Indeed, Commandant," Techno 9 piped up. "Two of their ships have erected an energy barrier between us and the big black galaxy. If we try to change course to evade it, we will become completely defenceless while we turn. If we try to pass through it, we'll be obliterated."

"Anyone have any idea what we're being attacked by?" Falco asked, calming down slightly. "Try and get an ID on screen right away."

Having given the order, the Aerobian heard the door open behind him as the four cadets came running in.

"Think we're in trouble, Commandant," Max said. "What's going on?"

"Soon as I know, you'll be the first to find out, Cadet Redwood," Falco said, only for Golde to speak up.

"Sir, we've got an image of our attackers," he said. "Getting it up... Now!"

Hitting the button, an image of a dark green coloured ship, shaped like a Tyrannitar's head. Upon seeing it, Falco let out a roar of anger.

"You know what it is?" Diana asked, trying to get a better look at the thing in front of them. "It looks familiar."

"It's the Tyrannikings," Falco replied. "Space pirates. And, Golde was right."

"About what, Sir?" the pilot asked, puzzled.

"They are feeling brave," the Aerobian answered. "This isn't going to end well for someone."

"Falco, they've launched ships to try and board us," Payne said, breaking into the conversation to alert everyone to what was going on. "In about ten minutes, we're going to have company."

"Then we've got no option!" Falco exclaimed. "Battle stations!"

* * *

_Pushing his way through the trees, Nick realised that he hadn't seen the strange blue shadow since he had left the meadow. Maybe he had imagined it, maybe it hadn't been real._

_Or it's just got better at following you, he thought, realising how strange it sounded. That's more likely._

_Somehow, the path seemed familiar to him. Like he'd been this way before, the worn path through the grass tugged the strings of his memory, forcing his mind away from the strange thing that he may or may not have seen._

_Guess there's only one thing to do, he thought grimly. Keep following the path and see where it takes me._

_

* * *

_

"This is just what I wanted to do this morning," Lily remarked, the group stood in the central point of the ship. "Go toe to toe with some damn Tyrock pirates."

"I know, it's terrific right," Max said, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "The Night Hawk's in trouble and we're one ranger down."

"You're still an effective fighting team though," Falco said. "They're going to try and board us from all angles. When that happens, I want the four of you to split up to try and repel them for as long as possible. Meanwhile, Payne and I will go to the one of their other entry points and do the same."

"What about the rest of the crew?" Sandy asked. "What's the plan for them?"

"Golde's going to seal himself in the cockpit. If we lose that, it's over," Falco said. "Ditto Evelyn in the medical lab, she's going to try and bring Cadet Miele around to help out. I've told Doctor Katongo and Gordon to go down to the engine rooms and help Chebek and Blister keep the engines safe from damage."

As he finished speaking, several loud thuds rang out around the hull of the ship, the sounds sending them into action.

"Remember!" Falco shouted. "No backing down. Give them everything you've got, and then some more!"

* * *

_"I remember this," Nick said, his voice cracking slightly as he looked across the meadow to the large wooden structure in front of him. It was a Forestrin Temple, a place where he had once visited long ago. This particular one, made from a type of eternal wood that was never to decay, had been built by the Geckile people, one of the many indigenous races to the planet. Even if he hadn't known that, he could have guessed from the enormous carved Sceptile head at the top of the building. "Hard not to."_

_He hated feeling bitter about this place, the part of him that was a Geckile immediately sprang to resent any comments made about it. The ironic thing was that he owned a Sceptile, having gotten one from Earth when he had visited it a few years before coming to Forestrin, along with an Aggron and a Scyther. They had been a gift from his parents..._

_Jerking him out of his memories, he heard the crackle of something in the trees above him. Immediately looking up, he saw the strange blue shadow perched in the branches, looking down at him. The way it shook itself, he could have sworn that it was laughing at him._

_Then, it leaped out of the tree and landed in front of him, immediately starting to morph and mutate into something new..._

_

* * *

_

"Do we have the Night Hawk backed into a corner?"

Sat in the captain's chair, Mitch looked down at the crew of Tyrocks below him. Some were Larvitar based, some were in the Pupitar stage. Only very few of them, like him, had lived long enough in this line of business to reach the Tyrannitar form. All of them worked for the Tyrannikings, all of them were loyal to both him and Mr. Samedi...

... And as of recently, they all had an Obliving in them. Part of Mr. Samedi's insurance policy to ensure that they did the job properly.

"We do, Boss," his right hand man answered, another fully grown Tyrock. "The blockade ships have put up the energy barrier, preventing them from continuing on course. If they try to change it, we will blast them."

"Are you completely insane?" Mitch demanded. "Claw, have you forgotten what we are meant to do? It's meant to look like an accident. If you blow them out of the sky, I'll nail your head to the thrusters and take off."

"They don't know that though," Claw replied. "My point was that we've already dispatched a series of boarding parties. Should at least stop them from working out that we're not going to blow them to Lucofa and back..."

"I want to be on one of those boarding parties," Mitch said, suddenly. "I have no desire to stand by and watch this from afar. This is something that I wish to have the pleasure of ending myself."

"As you wish, Boss," Claw answered. "Your own personal boarding craft has been fuelled and is awaiting you. Thought that was something you would require."

* * *

"You ready to do this?" Max asked, looking over to where Sandy was leaning behind cover, waiting for the airlock to be breached. Both of them had their Cosmo Blasters ready to be used, anticipating a huge swath of enemy activity to be arriving on the scene very shortly.

"I'm always ready," she replied. "Remember the plan? If there's too many of them to pin back, we morph and force them back that way."

"I remember," the red ranger answered. "That's not something I'm going to forget. Give me some credit where it's due."

"Just checking," Sandy replied. In these few moments, the two of them had managed to ignore the fact that one group of the Tyranniking boarding force had almost forced its way through with a powerful laser cutter. "Ready to go down in a blaze of glory?"

"I hope not," Max answered, grinning. "But, if that's the case... Better make it a bang, rather than a whimper."

As he finished speaking, the airlock hatch was smashed open, the metal covering thrown clear off its hinges. Nodding at each other, both Max and Sandy turned around and activated their CED's, hurling orbs of containing energy towards the invasion party in hope of thinning out the numbers slightly.

* * *

"It's about to start!" Lily exclaimed, a look of glee on her face as the laser cutter began its final arc across the hatch ahead of them. "You in the mood for carnage?"

"Well, I'm still mildly annoyed about earlier," Diana answered. "About that combat session with Nick. So, beating out some of my stress on these guys will probably be cathartic."

"That's my girl," Lily laughed, Cosmo Blaster in one hand, Cosmo Baton in the other. "Let's get this show on the road."

Almost responding to her challenge, the hatch crashed open and the Tyrocks started to swarm in with the intention of death and destruction.

* * *

"Seems like too long since we were last here, huh?" Payne commented. "You and me, back to back in combat."

"It's not been that long," Falco responded. "Remember that time on Jayenosis? When we went to track down that guy who kept killing Firefoxes?"

"Oh yeah..." Payne said, glancing down at his laser assault rifle for what seemed like the thousandth time. "That wasn't the best mission we've ever had, huh?"

Like Payne, Falco was also wielding a powerful assault rifle, both of them having brought out their weapons of choice for repelling the invasion force.

"This might run a close second if we get killed," Falco answered, managing a small smirk. "However, I'm not going down without a fight."

"If they're all Tyrocks, they might have a slight tactical advantage," Payne remarked. Ahead of them at the third airlock, the laser cutter was already working away to tear open the hatch. "However, I think between us..."

"I'd be willing to bet that they've never faced an Aerobian Combat Master, a Felaine Stalker and four well trained Poké Rangers," Falco said, dryly. "Pity it's not five."

"Don't those days seem long ago," Payne mused. "Those days in battle. When our causes were slightly less noble than galactic peace?"

"Back then, our causes were peace on our own planets," Falco remarked. "That's noble enough. I'd still be serving there now if the Aerobian Fighting Squadron hadn't been disbanded and the best candidates had been sent to Cosmo Force."

"Touché," Payne said, raising his weapon. "Let's show these fools exactly who they're messing with."

* * *

_As it shifted into a more recognisable form, Nick quickly realised what the thing was in front of him._

_"Nice," he commented. "But, one small detail. I don't have blue skin."_

_The lips of the almost identical replica of him smirked at the comment, before flexing its muscles. Every shade of the other Nick was a light blue colour, the hair, the eyes, the lips, the clothes. Even the inside of the nostrils appeared to be that colour._

_"Well, guess you got the raw deal," the other him said. "They say it's not easy being green. It's awesome being blue."_

_"I suppose I'd have to ask Sandy about that," Nick replied. "She's got more experience of it than me."_

_"This isn't about Sandy though," the other him answered. "It's about us. You remember this place?"_

_"How can I forget it?" Nick replied. "You look like me, hey you might even have my memories and if that's the case, then you should also know about this as well."_

_"I do," the other Nick said. "Believe me, it's not the sort of place that you can forget. Not like that other place. The Night Hawk. That's just a long line of places which aren't unique. Not like this."_

_"Actually, there's at least fifty of these places on this planet," Nick pointed out. "There's only one Night Hawk. You have an interesting definition of uniqueness."_

_"You misunderstand me," the other Nick said. "This, my dear self, is the place where our second birth happened. The place where..."_

_"I remember!" Nick exclaimed. "Okay, drop it!"_

_"You try to deny what happened?" the other him asked, still smirking. "I don't blame you. After something like that, you're never likely to be the same again. Then again, if only we'd listened..."_

_

* * *

_

The initial CED blasts had only served to thin out the ranks of the oncoming Tyrocks to a certain point. Before long, more of them were streaming in as if they didn't care what had happened to their comrades. They were met with laser fire, both Max and Sandy determined to hold them back for as long as possible.

"There's too many of them!" Max bellowed, realising that fact very quickly. No matter how many of them seemed to fall, more kept on coming. Next to him, Sandy had stepped forward and kicked one of the Pupitar staged Tyrocks back to try and stagger those that were storming in behind it.

"Might be time to go to Plan B!" Sandy yelled, bringing up her morpher. "Cosmosis!"

Morphing into her ranger suit, she brought up her Cosmo Baton and took down a Larvitar stage Tyranniking, only for more to surround her.

"Cosmosis!" Max yelled, activating his own morpher. As the suit materialised across his body, he flung himself into the crowd, his fist erupting into flames. "Fire Punch!"

Grateful for the small act of aid, Sandy kicked out at one of the ones close to her, giving her some room to move. Spinning, she hit one of the things behind her with a punch, staggering it slightly. At the same time, Max kicked another Tyrock in the back of the head, knocking it to the ground.

"How many of these guys are there?" Sandy wondered, before being tackled by one as she spoke. Hitting the floor in pain, the blue ranger kicked out into the face of the opponent to give herself some time to get back up.

Next to her, Max struck out with both baton and blaster, doing his best to force them back but with little avail. There were just too many of them...

Determined to help out as best she could, Sandy threw out an arm to push some of them back, before going again with as much force as she could muster. All while this was happening, her arm began to glow with a strange energy, a mixture of blue and purple somehow.

She wasn't oblivious to it. Sandy could feel the energy building up within her arms, the power becoming focused...

... Until she flung out her arm, sending a huge blow of psychic energy through the air which immediately had the desired effect on the surrounding Tyrannikings. Since none of them were in their Tyranitar stage, the blast affected each and every one of them without mercy.

"Okay, cool," she said, softly. All around the two of them, the initial group of invaders lay defeated. "Guess I've found my attack. Looks like some sort of Psychic Cut... Maybe Psycho Cut."

"Ah... Sandy?"

Looking up to where Max was gesturing, she could see that more were coming through the destroyed airlock, each of them looking in the mood for vengeance.

"Mrek! How many of these things are there?"

* * *

Running through the space that had previously been occupied by the airlock door, the Tyrannikings immediately saw Payne waiting at the other end of the corridor, resting on his weapons. He was smoking an electronic cigarette and didn't really seem that worried about their arrival.

"Aha!" one of the Tyrocks shouted, raising up his weapon. "Our first victim! In the name of the Tyranni..."

Before he could finish, he was hit with a flurry of laser fire from behind, the deadly assault raining down on the initial party. High above them, Falco was perched on a ledge, his assault rifle in hand as he casually took them down with ease. With most of them down, he dropped to the floor and hit the last one with a powerful but graceful spin kick, before smashing both his wings into the face of the Tyrock. Letting out a pained shriek, the Poké Alien hit the wall and immediately died from his injuries.

"Just like the old days," the Commandant remarked. Behind him, more Tyrannikings were coming on through, on their way to avenge the fallen comrades. "Now it's your turn, Stalker."

Smirking at the comment, Payne plucked an item from his belt and tossed it across the floor. At the same time, Falco leaped up into the air and landed back on the makeshift perch, covering his eyes.

As the item exploded in a powerful flash, the Felaine began to race towards the enemies, immune to the blinding light. Watching them fumble around in their blinded state, he struck one with the butt of his weapon before snapping his claws out and raking them across the face of another. Hurling himself across the floor, he kicked another in the stomach, before stopping on his back to fire up into the crowd from his prone position.

"Stalking the battlefield, I bring death and destruction to my enemies," he intoned. "There is little chance of your salvation, for I have wrecked any opportunity of you attaining it."

* * *

_"I should have listened?" Nick asked, not really paying any attention to what had just been pointed out to him. "Give me a break. Leaving them there in the first place was an accident waiting to happen."_

_"Every visitor to this temple was warned not to do it," the other him pointed out. "And, we soon found out why. Didn't we? Those stone tablets detailing the story of the Geckile. If you go into that temple, there's at least ten signs telling you not to touch them. Only a Geckile could handle them safely, the energy within them was too corrosive for any other sort of being to handle."_

_To that, the real Nick had no response, letting the other him continue on in the tale._

_"Remember how we were thrown across the room after we picked it up?" the other him continued. "Remember the first change? How we were so scared? How..."_

_"Shut up! I remember!"_

_"I don't think that we do," the other him smirked. "Do we remember the pain? The humilation in the knowledge that our life would never be the same again?"_

_"They managed to help me though," Nick pointed out. "Managed to reverse it to a certain point. They couldn't get rid of the curse, but they at least taught me how to manage it. Doesn't mean that I love it, but it's an extra string to my bow."_

_Almost automatically, the other him shifted into the half human, half Geckile form which had become the happy medium for him._

_"The joke was that we could never become pure Geckile," the__ other him remarked. "The curse wasn't strong enough to change what we inexplicably are. The cruel joke was that it turned us into something that wasn't either. A half and a half. That's what we truly hate about it."_

_

* * *

_

"In here!" one of the Tyrocks shouted, pushing the door open. At some point, they had managed to get past the two figures who were trying to repel them and were currently looking for stuff to either destroy or steal. "The engine rooms!"

No sooner did he walk through the door than did a can of metallic pink paint fall from the roof and cover him completely.

Behind him, some of the Tyrannikings snickered at his new appearance. Angry at what had just happened, the Tyrock furiously wiped at his eyes and strode further into the room...

... Only to fall down an open floor panel, landing face first on the hard metal surface underneath and knocking himself out cold.

"Anyone else think this might be more trouble than it's worth?" another Tyrock wondered, as a third one strode in to take his place at the head of the invasion party. Before he'd gotten too far into the room, a panel on one of the engines burst open and covered him in burning hot steam. Despite his rock hard skin, it still hurt, the powerful blast causing the space pirate to scream in pain as he threw himself back to try and get away, only to fall down the same open floor panel as the previous leader of the pack.

With clear misgivings, another Tyrock stepped in to take up the banner. As soon as he walked into the room, Blister popped out of where he was hiding and hit him with a wrench, the powerful blow sending him to his knees. Another strike and he was out cold.

The rest of the Tyrocks all decided not to bother and, as one, made the decision to go find somewhere else to cause chaos.

As the doors closed, Blister and Chebek grinned at each other before giving themselves some high fives. Their traps had worked to perfection, forcing them to think twice about coming into the engine room.

* * *

Both Lily and Diana could immediately tell that something was wrong. The way that the ranks in front of them had suddenly thinned out was quite worrying, because they weren't under the illusion that they had won the battle.

That was when they saw him. Striding out of one of the boarding ships, Mitch came stomping towards them, a stern smirk on his face.

"This is it?" he asked, sarcastically. "These are what resist you? Two Poké Rangers? Where are the rest of them, I wonder. Because they're not here, they're not at full strength and they are still beating you. Do you have no pride?"

"Nah, just a chronic lack of skills," Diana taunted. "It's the head cheese. Here to do some oozing."

"Nice taunt," Lily commented, seeing the way that Mitch glared at them. "Think you annoyed him. He's about to burst open his leather."

Still glaring, Mitch strode towards them, bringing a laser blaster out of his jacket. As he pointed it at the two of them, the two rangers immediately flung themselves out of the way to avoid the rapid fire blasts of his weapon, the burns covering the entire wall behind them.

"You had to wind him up, didn't you?" Lily complained. "Now he's shooting at us."

"I'm surprised more of them aren't packing blasters," Diana said, rolling her eyes. "That's really strange. Got to be more effective than big grey bars."

* * *

_"You're talking complete mrek," Nick said. "I'll tell you that. I don't hate the curse. I even accept it in the knowledge that it can be useful. Getting it probably changed my life. Rather than being a clown in class and not caring what I did with my life, I went to focus heavily on my work. Because of this curse, I put enough work into my studies to get a place at the Cosmo Force academy. If I hadn't contracted that curse, I wouldn't have ended up on Berisya, I wouldn't have absorbed all that aura and I wouldn't have passed out. Therefore, I wouldn't be having this conversation with YOU!"_

_Emphasising the final word, Nick pushed out at the other version of him, sending the figure crashing to the ground. Upon hitting the grass, the other Nick immediately exploded into thousands of small pieces, each small fragment staining the grass blue._

_"I'm not letting you mess with my head anymore!" he shouted. As he spoke, the blue fragments began to melt away into a liquid form, possibly on their way back into their natural aura state. "I'm getting out of here!"_

_

* * *

_

That was when he woke up, sitting upright on the bed in the medical bay of the Night Hawk, gasping for breath. Immediately, Evelyn came over to him, the medical officer somehow determined to hold him back down, something that he resisted roundly.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, pushing her away. "I'm awake. Awake and ready for.. Argh!"

He couldn't help but let out the groan of pain, his interior system on fire.

"Looks like it," Evelyn commented, sarcastically. "The aura is still in your system you know. You need to expel it somehow. Unfortunately, we're under attack from space pirates..."

"Space pirates?" Nick asked, immediately springing up. "Oh no! I have to help the others out. Now!"

"Why does everyone completely ignore my medical advice?" Evelyn wondered, turning away from him. "Maybe I need to work on my bedside manner."

"You said I need to expel that aura somehow," Nick groaned, heading for the exit. "Maybe this is how. Maybe I can burn out a few space pirates with it."

"I wouldn't recommend it," Evelyn said. "But, what the hey. It's not going to be something you'll take heed of."

"I can't think of a more appropriate way to vent all that stuff out of my system," Nick answered, watching the door slide open. "Bye!"

* * *

"Retreat!"

As Nick stepped out into the corridor, he saw both Lily and Diana charge down the hallway, not giving him a second glance.

"Huh," he muttered. "Hi and bye."

Next, he heard the sound of heavy booted footsteps from the direction that they had just come, the green ranger turning around to see a Tyrock wearing a black leather jacket stomping after them.

"Hi," he said, brightly. "Are you a new member of the crew?"

"Joker, huh?" Mitch demanded, pointing his automatic blaster at him. "Yeah, I'm the new execution officer. You're my first item of business."

* * *

"What happened?" Falco demanded, he and Payne having met up with Max and Sandy at some previous point. To complete the group, the four of them had found Lily and Diana retreating. "What happened to fighting until the end."

"Think they called in reinforcements at our end, Sir," Lily gasped. "We had to retreat. No other option."

"Also, their leader showed up," Diana commented. "Big ugly Tyrock. A fully grown one. Not going to be easy to take down. And since there's about ten smaller ones with him, we'd have been overwhelmed."

"Oh, and we passed Nick on the way down here." Lily added. "For what it's worth."

"Nick?" Diana asked. "How do you know that was Nick? Thought it was some random guy."

"The smell," the black ranger replied. "Shouldn't we be..."

Not even finishing, the small group began to head back the way that the yellow and black rangers had come, suddenly interested whether or not the green ranger had suddenly put in a reappearance.

As the rangers went ahead, Falco gave Payne a nod, directing the Felaine to take another route. Without questioning the order, he did so, slipping away into another corridor.

With the group of five walking down the corridor, a sudden flurry of shots rang out, followed by a large groan.

"Holy mrek, I hope that wasn't Nick," Sandy said.

* * *

Lowering his weapon, Mitch looked down at the cadet in front of him. After being hit with a full array of shots from his blaster, he should have been out on the ground, dead. Instead, he was crouched down, arms covering his face. Despite the barrage of laser fire, he appeared unhurt and unmarked.

Suddenly straightening up, Nick's features reshaped into his Geckile form.

"Aura shield," he explained. "Makes me pretty much immune to everything. That's how great that is. And I've got a lot of it to spare. Observe."

Throwing up his hand, he directed a huge stream of light blue aura through the air towards some of the other Tyrannikings in the corridor, the power of the blast knocking them out cold.

"That feels better actually," the green ranger continued, flexing the muscles in his longer than normal neck. "A lot better. Oh yeah!"

Letting out that sound of satisfaction, he began to walk towards Mitch, the leaves at his wrists lengthening up into a curved form.

"Shall we dance?" he taunted. "You look like you go in for that sort of thing."

"You both do, to be honest."

Glancing around at the sound of the voice, he saw that the rest of the rangers, all morphed, and Falco had finally come onto the scene to see what was going on. Predictably, the shout had come from Lily.

"Thanks for that vote of confidence," he commented, rolling his eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Rather than letting him finish, Mitch struck out, slamming his tail into Nick's upper body. Such was the force of the blow that the green ranger was immediately smashed to the ground.

"Talk is cheap," the Tyrock grunted. "I don't care who you are, I'm going to wipe you all out. In the name of Same..."

In the same way that he had earlier cut Nick off, the Tyranniking leader was suddenly thrown back, albeit in a much slower way because of his huge weight. Rising up from the ground, Nick shot the Poké Alien a dirty look as he brushed his scales off.

"That was something that you should not have done," he said, simply. "Now, you're going to feel the pain..."

Letting out a choke of pain, the thin blue aura began to seep out of the wounds on his body. Bringing both hands up, he began to slowly bring them around in circles, focusing the aura within them to form a vortex.

"Think you aura run," he quipped, the swirling vortex growing ever larger within his hands. "Because, I'm sure in the mood to play TechBall."

Throwing his arm back, he hurled the energy projectile towards Mitch and the pirates that had been gathering behind him, all desperate for a chance of victory. Showing no mercy, he went to mirror the action, summoning more and more spheres of aura and hurling them off into the crowd.

Finally, with the aura in his system spent, Nick looked up to see many Tyrocks unconscious on the floor of the corridor in front of him and the rest of the rangers. Yet, despite this, there was no sign of Mitch.

"That was an impressive show of power," remarked Falco, stepping forward to stand by the green ranger. "However, I assume that you no longer have the aura in your system."

"That would be the logical guess," Techo 9 remarked. "Mr. Griote, I wish to inform you that the Tyrannikings are withdrawing. They've retreated. Having intercepted a communication, their leader has fled. We've won."

* * *

"No casualties," Evelyn reported, walking through the cockpit. "Some minor injuries, but nothing serious. Chebek got hit with a chain, Gordon nearly fell down a service hatch and Cadet Miele's back to normal after his traumatic ordeals."

"Good," Falco answered, stood looking out of the window onto the galaxy. "That is, anyway. I'm a lot more worried about what has happened today."

"It could have been an accident, Sir," Payne pointed out. "By that, I mean it might not have been a deliberate attack on us. Could have just been some space pirates out there and thought us an easy mark."

"In this life, very few things are random or coincidence," Falco said. "I doubt this was. This was a deliberate attack on us. Pity none of them knew anything about who had hired them. The only one who would have done was their leader and he escaped."

"He's not going to be able to go about his business as normal," Payne remarked. "He's wanted for the attack of a Cosmo Force ship now, as well as multiple acts of piracy. Few out there would be stupid enough to be caught with him on board, because of the punishments for aiding a fugitive . I doubt we'll see him again, he's probably going into hiding as we speak."

"I'd feel more comfortable if I knew where he was," Falco grumbled. "If I knew that he was in Acathria now. Anyway, it's not something I'm going to dwell on. How long until we arrive at the Stronghold?"

"Still at least six hours, Sir," Golde answered. "We were delayed quite heavily."  
"I see," Falco mused. "We cannot afford to waste any more time. Try and cut that six hours down to five and a half."

"I'll try, Sir, but no promises."

* * *

"You sure that you want to do this?" Nick asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet to psych himself up. "It's not too late for you to back out..."

"That's not going to happen," Diana sneered, sarcastically at first before turning her expression into a smile. "Unless you want to admit defeat."

"You guys are both crazy," Max commented, he, Lily and Sandy sat watching the two rangers getting ready for their sparring match in front of them. "Just to settle some sort of grudge."

"This is the only way to find out," Diana said, rubbing her hands together. "The only way to find out which of us is the stronger."

"Does anyone else care?" Lily wondered. "You're both inferior to me."

"Yeah, but they make up for it with being more modest," Sandy mused, smiling at the black ranger. "Right."

"Somebody want to ring that bell?" Nick asked, transforming into his Geckile form. "Because..."

"You want me to ring the bell?" Diana wondered, miming the action of hitting a bell in a combat match. "Ding ding."

Having made the imitation of a bell, the two rangers leaped at each other, both ready to start attacking...

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Yeah, that was slightly different to what's come before. Sorry about the last scene, I was watching Rocky 4 at some point while writing it.**

**Will Mitch ever be a problem again for the rangers? You might think not, but there's always the possibility. In other words, he will be back.**

**Nick's back to normal and the rangers are returning to the Stronghold. For what, that remains to be seen...**

**Thanks for the reviews. All welcomed. A lot.**

**Hope you enjoyed the flashbacks. If you've been on the forum, they might not have been a surprise about Nick's past, but if not then... Treat?**

**Anyway, the figure in the shadows now has a name.**

**As you can see below in the preview, the next one is entitled Nightfire.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

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* * *

**

**Chapter Nine, Nightfire, preview.**

**Max: This isn't what I expected to be doing.**

**Lily: They had to call us in for this?**

**?: Presenting the new multi-million credit investment. The Nightfire Cannon.**

**Diana: It's been stolen?**

**Nick: Wasn't this exactly what we were here to prevent?**

**Sandy: We better find it, they can't have gotten too far with it.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	9. Nightfire

Chapter Nine. Nightfire.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_Annoyed with the intrusion of the rangers, the shadow figure Samedi dispatched the Tyrannikings, a group of space pirates to attack the Night Hawk. Elsewhere, Nick tried to get out of explaining about his Geckile form, before the rangers went to kill some time before arriving at the Stronghold. While sparring with Diana, he passed out, going into a strange dream state where he encountered a strange version of himself made out of aura. At the same time, the Night Hawk came under attack. Despite the best efforts of the remaining rangers, Falco and Payne, they couldn't completely repel them, until Nick came out of his coma and unleashed a storm of aura upon them, forcing them to flee..._

_

* * *

_

"And, how is the manufacturing going?"

"It's almost completed, Doctor," answered the Canardian on the video screen. "We've built up an acceptable model, one that could be utilised tomorrow without failure. Obviously there are room for improvements, nothing can ever be perfect. You spend ten years developing a deadly virus, the means of countering it can very quickly become available if much research is partaken into it. This is the same, only it is not a virus."

Smirking at the small joke, Doctor Katongo looked at the Golduck-like Poké Alien on the screen in front of him. Within the screen, he could also see an item on a table, a silver tube shaped like the barrel of an old style cannon. However, it had been upgraded with various trinkets, including a circular box midway underneath the bottom, a laser sight under the barrel, a ball shaped stock at the back, a pair of stabilisers mid way across the top of the weapon and a thick handle-shaped grip between the stock and the clip.

"It's not even close to a virus," the Psorian mused, before straightening up, his tone becoming more authoritative. "This is a highly sophisticated energy weapon, capable of immense power."

"I know, I built it from your designs," Beadon answered. "If you want to tweak it at any point, then it's open for improvement."

"I'm sorry, Beadon, but for the moment I have the utmost faith in your crafting skills," Doctor Katongo replied. "We're almost back to the Stronghold, probably be there in an hour or so. Have it ready for then. And I mean ready. Don't want anyone to see it before it's actually used in battle."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"So what are the rules regarding confusion?"

"Nick Nick Nick," Diana said, giving him a smug look. "I know that's how you feel all the time, but you can't use that as an excuse. It's just not that convincing."

"I still feel annoyed that you morphed into a Mothling and confused me," Nick said, bitterly. "That's just not fair."

"To be fair, it was a bit of a calamity," Lily remarked, drinking her orange soda. After having spent the last several hours since the attack of the Tyrannikings recovering and killing time, they'd all found themselves in the mess hall. "I have expected the two of you to start employing hair pulling tactics."

That was enough to make Max let out a snort of laughter, the red ranger shrugging as everyone else looked at him.

"Hair pulling, really?" Diana asked, turning her attention over to Lily. "Remember, I share quarters with you. I'm not above some fur removal if you really annoy me."

"I'd listen to her, Lil," Sandy offered. "She looks serious. She probably would do it."

"Hah. Nothing gets past me," Lily pointed out. "I have excellent hearing and sense of smell, even while I sleep. Nothing sneaks up on me. It's impossible to get within five feet of me without my knowing."

At that point, Falco placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her completely.

"Is that right, Cadet Yushaa?" he asked, seeing the grins on the faces of the other four rangers. Below him, he had the strange sense that Lily was blushing. "Is that something that you're really sure about?"

"I knew you were there," she muttered. "Really, I did."

"No, you didn't," the Aerobian told her. "History lesson. In the long distant past, the Aerobians fought a race of Poké Aliens with not dissimilar senses to you. As a result, we had to adapt in order to take them on. Should we so desire, my people can temporarily remove any trace of their own scent."

"And you felt the need to utilise it in the mess hall, Sir?" Sandy asked. "What are you trying to hide from? Gordon's cooking?"  
"Very good, Cadet Garcia," Falco said, managing a small smile. "Actually, I ordered him to send you over something. We'll be landing shortly."

Just as he had said, the chef came over, carrying a tray containing five individual drinks. Each of them was a strange light blue colour, a shade that none of them had seen in a drink before.

"Here you go, guys," Gordon said, placing the tray down in front of them. "Compliments of the house. Well, the mess hall."  
"What is it?" Max asked, raising the question that each of them had been musing on. "Just out of interest."

"The last stocks of our Hrokner Juice," Gordon replied. "Something that we need to replenish, but as is standard procedure, they won't let us do that until we use it all up. And it seems like such a waste to pump it out into space. So, you get it."

"Wait a second," Nick interrupted. "I've heard about this. Never seen it though, I'm amazed that we're carrying it. Isn't it..."

"Just drink it, Cadet Miele!" Falco ordered. "We're not going to poison you."

That was enough to shut the green ranger up, as Nick quickly moved to take up a glass before looking around at the rest of his cadets.

"Well, thanks I guess, Sir," Max said, tipping it back and draining the contents of the glass. "It's not quite Yellow Streak, is it?"

* * *

Having gotten off the Night Hawk, the five cadets and Falco had immediately gotten a hover vehicle to take them to where they needed to go, the Aerobian giving the directions to the automated machine. As it sped off, he spoke up.

"This is a very sensitive mission," he said, his voice barely audible over the hum of the engine. "And I expect you to treat it as such."

"Whatever it is, we can handle it, Sir," Max replied, leaning closer to him. "What is it that we need to do? Hunt down an escaped fugitive with a bomb..."

"Or find a demented sniper before he, she or it kills again," Sandy added.

"Or defeat a warring party of Stoneghosts?" Lily wondered, sounding hopeful at that prospect.

"Or defuse a hostage situation?" Nick asked. "That's got to be it, right?"

"Personally, I think we're here to kill some Oblivings," Diana finished. "Are any of us on the right lines?"

"Not even close," Falco said, dryly. "Any of those could be handled by the cadets on site. You've been brought in for a very special purpose. Tonight, a corporation is going to unveil something that they've been working on. A multi-purpose laser cannon. They're going to unveil it at a function in their office building, a lot of board members, wealthy patrons, council officials..."

"Sounds interesting, Commandant," Lily replied. "But where do we come into it?"

"Intelligence has picked up a transmission revealing that someone or something may very well intend to steal it from the event," Falco answered. "This is a very sensitive occasion, which is the reason that Doctor Krengelore felt the need to call you over here to help deal with security. You are to go there, undercover and ensure that it does not get stolen."

"That's it?" Sandy asked, surprised. "Is that all?"

"Do not underestimate the test of this task, Cadet Garcia," Falco said. "If the intelligence turns out to be accurate, and you don't treat it as such and the whole thing culminates in Nightfire being stolen, then I hardly need to remind you of the ramifications for your careers in Cosmo Force. It would look extremely bad for you."

"Don't worry, Sir," Nick said, confidently. "We're not going to let you down here. If that thing that intends to steal this thing shows up, we'll get him."

"If nothing else," Max commented. "Then it'll at least give all those wealthy people some reassurance that we take our jobs very seriously. Maybe they'll pump some extra funding into Cosmo Force."

"That is not the primary aim of this, Cadet Redwood," Falco said, narrowing his eyes at Max. "Just stay focused on the task in hand."

* * *

"Man, this isn't what I expected to be doing here," Max remarked, looking down at the crowd below him. In order to fit in, he was wearing a black tuxedo, with a white shirt and a red bow tie. "Thought that we might be needed for some drastic action. Not hanging around waiting for something that might happen."

"I agree," Lily said, spitefully. Like Max, she had changed into formal wear for the event, donning a black knee length dress with a white trim around the neck, shoulder straps and hem. She had also completed the ensemble with a pair of black high heels. "They had to call us in for this?"

"You're just annoyed because you had to change your clothes," Max smirked. "Right? That's the reason you're grumpy?"

"I'm not the one complaining."

"More out of disappointment. You're just generally biting on everyone."

"NO! I'M NOT! NOW DROP IT!"

"Okay, I guess you're not," Max muttered, taking another look at the groups of beings below them. Somewhere in the crowd, he knew that Nick, Sandy and Diana were milling around, trying to look inconspicuous. He also knew that there was the possibility of a thief there, determined to steal whatever Nightfire was. "If you were going to steal this thing, how would you do it?"

* * *

"This place is a pickpockets dream," Diana commented, stood at one of the buffet tables with Nick. She was wearing a strapless yellow dress with a black belt, as well as a pair of black high heels. "If any of us went in for that thing."

"Nah, folks this rich do have their own means of protection," Nick pointed out. He was wearing a grey suit with a green shirt. "Remember? They have those anti-theft devices. You try to rob them and you get zapped."

"Yeah..." the yellow ranger mused. "Enough electricity to take down a Grodian."

"You think anything's going to happen?" Nick wondered. "Or, are we just wasting our time?"

"My instinct says that we're wasting our time," Diana replied. "Why would anyone want to steal a powerful laser weapon."

"I think you just answered your own question."

Glancing around, the two cadets saw Sandy coming over to them. Like Lily and Diana, she was wearing a dress, only hers was a royal blue colour. She also wore a pair of long gloves in the same colour, black stockings and a pair of blue high heels.

"If it's that powerful, then it would be worth stealing."

"You've got to put such a downer on things at times," Diana complained, before lightening up slightly. "Nice dress though."

"Thanks, you too."

* * *

About an hour passed, before the request for everyone to congregate at one end of the giant room, where a podium had been set up. As the various beings in the room made their way across to it, a Vocalarian stepped up to it and cleared his throat. He was a black skinned Exploud-like Poké Alien wearing a set of white robes. He also wore a pair of glasses, his eyes strangely small behind them.

"I should have gone for the robed look," Diana muttered, darkly. "That would have been so much better on reflection."

"Greetings to all that have taken the time to come to this function on behalf of Xenocor Industries," the speaker said, not needing a microphone such was the volume of his voice. "I hope that you've all had a good time so far, but for a moment I would ask that the frivolous pleasantries are put aside and we focus upon the main event of the evening. The reason that we have all come here."

He paused for a moment to clear his throat, letting the message sink in to the watching crowds.

"Not too long ago, our scientists as Xenocore Industries decided to create a product that would revitalise everything that we know and hold," the speaker continued. "A product that is available for general use, a product that can be deployed for almost any purpose."

As he continued to speak, a pair of uniformed Choklians brought out a small metal case and placed it down on the table in front of him, one of them opening it up to reveal a silver coloured cannon-like device.

"Presenting the new multi-million credit investment," the speaker said, looking down through his glasses at everyone in the audience below him. "The Nightfire Cannon. This highly sophisticated piece of technology is soon to be employed by the masses all across the galaxy, be it for excavation, for exploration, for salvage. This is the first unveiling of this excellent new product, and we'll be taking orders for it in the next month or so."

"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Lily muttered. "Bet it'd explode when you tried to use it."

"I doubt they'd be revealing it now if that was the case," Sandy told her. "Looks an expensive piece of kit when you get a closer look at it. I think it might be accurate in how powerful they claim it is."

"Which is why someone might want to steal it," Max remarked. "Now, we just have to ensure that that doesn't happen."

"Excuse me," Diana said, moving out of the crowd. Something had obviously struck her, forcing her to leave the event, much to the disdain of several beings there.

Yet, the speaker didn't appear to notice. Still, he spoke about what the Nightfire Cannon was capable of, his voice slowly becoming one long drone.

"... Capable of burning a hole through a Class 1 asteroid over a sustained period of continuous fire, the design is much more of a..."

"Think she's got the right idea," Nick commented, quietly. "This is a short throw away from being depressing."

"Oh, be quiet," Sandy muttered. "I'm finding it interesting. Well, I say interesting. More impressive than interesting, but..."

Cutting her off, the lights immediately snapped out, bathing the entire room in darkness. Several audible shouts rang out, the beings inside all suddenly worried.

"Don't worry, everyone," the speaker said, quickly. "There's nothing to worry about, it must just be a power failure... You're all completely fine."

That was when a crashing sound rang out, followed by a sickened gasp from the speaker.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Nick exclaimed, suddenly trying to force his way through the crowd of people towards the podium. "Where's Diana when you need her? She could have transformed into a light..."

"Don't think it works that way," Max muttered, holding up his hand. As he did so, a small ball of fire erupted from his palm to create some light. "This is better anyway. Can you see anything?"

From the light given by the fire in his hand, Lily, Nick and Sandy all turned their attention to the stage, the small amount of light revealing a figure sprinting off into the darkness. With his disappearance, the lights returned. The first thing that they saw was the speaker on the ground in front of the podium, a series of bruises on his head. The second was the absence of the Nightfire Cannon.

"Ah, mrek," Lily said, looking at the empty space on the podium.

* * *

It didn't take them long to track down Diana, the yellow ranger having vanished off into one of the security offices off the main hall. Upon walking out, she was surprised to see them there, even more when they told her what had happened.

"It's been stolen?" Diana asked, looking at each of them in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"What were you doing in there?" Lily asked, giving the yellow ranger a strange look. "Obviously you weren't paying attention to what was going on out here."

"I went to look at the security footage and see if anything was out of the ordinary," Diana retorted. "But when the lights went out, it killed the feed as well. So I don't know. You probably got a better look at whatever stole it than I did."

"Ignoring that aside," Nick interrupted. "But wasn't this exactly what we were here to prevent?"

"That's right," Sandy replied. "We were caught unawares by this. It's going to reflect badly on us, so we better find it. They can't have gotten too far with it."

As she finished speaking, Max came on over towards them, having spoken with a security guard while the rest of them had gone to find Diana.

"They're probably still on this floor," he said, speaking quickly. "I spoke to that guard. Apparently, when the lights went out, they initiated a lockdown for the entire floor. None of the lifts are going to work, the windows are sealed and covered and personal teleportation devices aren't going to be able to work because of a jamming beacon in the walls."

"So let's see if we can track them both down quickly," Lily piped up. "I'll go have a sniff around the podium. Quite literally. The rest of you..."

"We'll talk to some of the people in the front row and see if they saw anything at all," Max said "Pity there's no Noctures here. Night vision."

* * *

"I'm sorry, why are you asking me these questions?"

The question came from the black suited Poké Alien in front of Sandy who was doing his very best to treat her with suspicion. He was a Sablien, a Sableye-like creature with black and white striped skin. His curved fingers each held at least two golden rings, while he also wore a silver chain around his neck.

"I'm with Cosmo Force," the blue ranger quietly said. "We're just trying to work out what happened."

"How'd you get in here?" the Sablien asked, suspiciously. "Thought this place was locked down. Although since you're not in uniform, I'd wager that you were already here. Possibly undercover to ensure that something like this didn't happen."

"Ah..." Sandy said, completely lost for words. "Is that what you think?"

"Although, if that is now the uniform..." the Sablien smirked, offering her a hand. "Sabli Romerenko, my dear. Glad that you're on the case."

"I've heard of you," she quickly said, returning the gesture. To her surprise, he took her hand and brought it up to kiss it. "You're the owner of Romerenko Enterprises, yeah?"

"My my. Not just a pretty face," Sabli replied. "Rest assured my dear, I was near the front, but I didn't see anything. Just the smell..."

"The smell?" Sandy asked, surprised. "What do you mean by that?"

"There was a decidedly bitter smell in the air when the event took place," he answered. "A strange mix of ethanol, banana and iceberry."

"Really?" the blue ranger replied, immediately puzzled by the revelation. "Are you sure? That's a strange mix."

"That it is," Sabli answered, turning to head back into the crowd of people. "I offer you luck in trying to find the solution."

* * *

"What have you got?" Max asked, walking over to where Lily was still examining the area around the podium. "Anything at all?"

"Just that strange smell," the black ranger conceded. "Whatever it is. Some of it smells familiar, but..."

"What does it smell of?"

"Vinegar, hint of iceberry," she replied. "There's something else in there as well, but I can't place it."

"Think it's aftershave?"

"If it is, I wouldn't like to meet the guy who uses it," Lily commented. "But I don't think it is. I've smelt it somewhere before... Can't think where."

"You said that before," Max said, stroking his chin. "You get anything else, let me know."

* * *

His next move hadn't taken long, the red ranger going across to a female Ampharine who had been stood close to the front of the crowd. She was a pink skinned Ampharos wearing a backless blue dress. He could see dark red stripes on her back, while the orb on her forehead was a blue colour. She also had long blond coloured hair, which Max found quite unique. Whenever he had encountered Ampharine before, it wasn't something that they naturally had.

"Hi," he said, smiling at her. "Cosmo Force, can I ask you a few questions?"

"I suppose," she answered, looking down at the ground. "As long as you don't expect me to give up any corporate secrets."

"I tell you what," Max said. "I won't bring the subject up unless it suddenly turns out to be relevant. What's your name?"

"Cassandra Louise Torres," she answered, quietly.

"Did you see or hear anything during the blackout?" Max quickly asked. "Or smell anything?"  
"Smell?" she replied, sounding startled. "There was something. Something in the air that... It reminded me of... You ever been to the planet Chollis?"

"No, why?" Max asked, wondering if he was somehow about to happen across something.

"On Chollis, there's an indigenous race known as the Chameleos," Cassandra answered. "Don't know if you've heard of them, but..."

"Yeah, I have," Max replied. "Didn't know that they came from Chollis. Don't know much about them at all."

"Naturally they do," she said. "But, that many have left there in the last several centuries that it's easy to forget that's where the species originated. The Chameleos are low level shape shifters, not on the same level as Formshifters... You know there's one of them in here, right? Wearing a yellow dress?"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Max replied, suddenly realising that she was referring to Diana. "Actually, she's only half Formshifter. But, back on the Chameleos..."  
"They can change their form, but it's not easy for them to do. Unlike when Formshifters do it, it causes them pain. In order to alleviate that pain, they rub a solution on their skin made of ethanol, banana and iceberry. That's what I smelt earlier. I hate to cast aspersions on a race as a whole, but..."

"So a Chameleo was here?" Max asked. "Any chance that there's one in the crowd watching which was where you..."

"Unless they're disguised, there's not one here," Cassandra answered. "You can tell that."

"Thanks for the information," the red ranger replied, holding out a hand, which she quickly shook after much consideration. "You've been most helpful."

* * *

"Aww mrek," Nick said, flinching as Max told him what Cassandra had said. "I really do hate shapeshifters."

"Hey!" Diana exclaimed. "You nasty little racist!"

"I'll rephrase that," Nick quickly replied. "I hate having to deal with them. No idea what sort of form they're going to be in, no idea who to trust..."

"Well, I'll agree with you there," Diana said, somewhat mollified. "They can be tricky. But, there's a way to deal with them."

"What's that?"

"Suspect everyone," she replied, casually. "Trust no one. Oh, and always be on your guard."

"So, in other words, there's nothing specific that we can do?" Lily grunted. "Terrific."

"Maybe," Nick said, suddenly. "Maybe not. There is one way to do this."

"What's that?" Sandy asked, looking over to the green ranger. "Something that we're missing?"

"What do all of these high rise high function places have?" Nick replied. "The one way to deduce whether or not a Chameleo is here."

"ABS's," Max said, straightening up as he realised where Nick was going with his train of thought. "Automated Biological Scanners."

"Correct," Nick remarked. "And there's not a shapeshifter alive that can fool one of them... Well, as far as I know, a Chameleo can't. Maybe a Formshifter could on a bad day, but..."

"It doesn't happen," Diana pointed out. "Trust me, I have experience with these things."

"All we have to do is check the logs and see if a Chameleo came in via the entrances," Max said, smiling. "Apart from the designated entry points, this is a sealed room. Nobody gets in or out through the ventilation system, the windows aren't an option..."

"Let's go and check them out then," Lily remarked. "And if they won't show them to us, we'll just have to insist on it."

With that, she cracked her knuckles, a smirk on her face.

"I don't think they'll hesitate in showing us them," Sandy said. "It's not in their interest to do otherwise."

* * *

"Hey, check it out!" Nick exclaimed, gesturing at the monitor. "There I am. Registered as Geckile though... That's a bit annoying."

"Come to think of it," Max said. "This system isn't the most accurately sensitive. I'm registered as a half breed..."

At that, Lily let out a snort of laughter.

"And so is Lily."

That shut the black ranger up, as Diana leaned over her to get a better view of the console.

"Technically I should be on that list as well," she mused. "Why am I not?"

"There's not even a Formshifter on the list," Sandy said, running her eyes down the readout. "So, that's interesting."

"Anyone else think that something doesn't add up here?" Max asked. "Wonder if the machine has been hacked. Sandy, can you..."

"Okay, I'll take a look at it," the blue ranger replied, rolling her visible eye. "Give me a few minutes. You four might as well see what you can find out there."

"That makes sense," Max remarked. "Lily, see if you can follow that smell from where it starts to where it finishes."

"I'll do that," Lily answered. "What about the rest of you?"

"Continue our investigation," Nick answered. "Either that or take advantage of the free bar while we can."

"That seems slightly irresponsible," Sandy commented, her focus still on the controllers to the scanner. "But, I can imagine that you're not serious, so I'm not going to make a comment on it. Other than the one I've already done."

* * *

"I've got something!"

Hearing the exclamation from the black ranger, Max and Nick both looked at each other before grinning.

"Well, I don't want to catch it," Nick said, shooting her a smirk. "What is it?"

"I managed to get a trail on the scent," Lily replied. "I know where it's going, I know where it ends. Are you interested, or do you both want to continue cracking stupid little jokes?"

"I haven't been cracking jokes," Max pointed out while looking hurt. "So, where is..."

"And, just for an extra point," Nick interrupted. "My jokes aren't stupid. I make witty and well thought out points. At times."

"Of course you do," Lily said, her voice full of sarcasm. "And I'm a perfectly functioning member of normal society."

"Never mind it, you two!" Max exclaimed, cutting them off. "Lead onto wherever we need to go."

"After you," Lily said, gesturing at the holographic statue in front of them. It was an artist's rendition of an Arcellian, an ancient being which resembled a mixture of a human and an Arceus. An image based on what the designer had believed one to look like, it was placed next to the wall.. "Those things are expensive. If it gets damaged, I'm not having anything to do with it."

"Solid holographic renderings," Nick remarked, looking at it. "She's right. They are expensive. I don't want to start messing around with this, or..."

Cutting him off, Max reached out and put his hand through the statue, giving the other two rangers next to him a dark look.

"It's not solid," he replied. "Now, let's see what's behind her..."

Letting his sentence hang, he reached out through the statue and began to fumble behind it, a focused look of concentration on his face.

"Like watching someone reach into the unknown," Lily said, sarcastically. "There could be anything in there. There could be an infestation of miniature Ariaks, there could be a crack to another universe..."

Ignoring her, Max pulled out a familiar looking silver case, a smug look replacing the concentration upon his face.

"Or it could be the stolen goods," he remarked. "Now, how are we going to do this? Do we take this as a win, or do we try to get whoever stole it as well?"

"I can't believe you're even asking that question," Nick said. "Let's get the mrekhead and take him down."

"What's the plan then?" Lily asked. "Because, I think we should check in with Sandy and see if she's managed to work out if anything's wrong with the scanners."

* * *

"There's something wrong with these scanners," Sandy confirmed, as the three of them walked back into the office to find Diana already there. "I had Diana conduct a test. They've been tampered with so that they don't register the genetic profile of anything that can change shape."

"Look at you," Lily snorted, glancing over at the yellow ranger. "Lab test subject."  
"That the best insult you could come up with?"  
"It was at short notice," Lily shot back, before turning her attention back to where Sandy was still fiddling around with the machine. "Don't suppose you can reverse engineer the flaws and see what's going on?"

"I'll give it a try," Sandy said, stretching out her arms. "These things aren't easy to hack. They have countless firewalls, a multitude of passwords, generally more tricks, traps and riddles than a night with that whacko who started murdering people on the Stronghold a couple of years ago? Any of you remember that?"

"The Riddler?" Nick asked, rolling his eyes.

"That's what he called himself I believe," Sandy replied, going back to the consoles. "Saw some of the holo's of his hideout. Lot of whips, chains, electro-cuffs, branding irons, books of riddles... It was like the weekend getaway of your average politician. Anyway, back to my point, if I work at my absolute max to... No pun intended... to get through these barriers, it should take about half an hour. Maximum."

"Guess we better get waiting then," Max muttered, stroking his chin. As his hand passed by his nose, he reacted, visibly straightening up for a moment before recovering his poise. "So... The Riddler? Any other random bits of trivia that we want to share out?"

"What just happened to you?" Lily wondered, bringing light to his earlier gesture. "Want to explain?"

"I think a clue just passed by right under my nose," Max mused. "No jokes, please."

* * *

Several hours later, most of the beings attending the function had slowly and surely been allowed to trickle out of the building, able to leave and return to their homes or temporary residences on the condition that they left their names and details on how to get in touch with them if it was needed. Even the security had left the room alone, meaning that it was a relatively easy task for the black-clad figure to make their way through the room in the complete darkness. Only the lights upon some of the exhibits remained, giving enough light for the figure to feel their way around. More suspicious beings might have found it suspicious that many of the alarms weren't active, but they put it down to the recent lockdown.

Reaching behind the holographic statue, the figure pulled out the briefcase, letting out a small laugh as they pulled it free of where it was hidden...

... Only for the lights to snap on in the room, the darkness completely vanishing to leave the figure nowhere to hide.

"Hello there," Max said, causing the figure to freeze more than they already had done. He had been stood in the room alone, just waiting to strike. As the figure remained frozen, her grip on the case gave out, falling to the ground and smashing open to reveal the Nightfire Cannon. "Guess you decided that you wanted an encore after the main event was over."

Turning around, the figure revealed themselves to be Cassandra, now wearing the black combat uniform, and a disappointed look on her face.

"Interesting tactic," the red ranger remarked. "Leading me down the wrong path with the Chameleo information... That really was clever. What did you do? Rub some of the stuff on the stage to try and fool everyone? Problem was, some of it stayed on your hand. It was enough to let us follow the scent to the case. We found out through the ABS that no Chameleo's came in here. You were the one to point us in that direction, so I immediately named you as the main suspect. What backed me up was that I smelt some of it on my hand, the very same hand that you shook earlier. And, as clichéd as it may sound, the game is up!"

"Well then," Cassandra replied, shiftily. "I guess there's nothing to do but either surrender or fight. Can you guess which I'm going to pick?"

"I know which one I hope you're going to pick," Max said, bringing up his gloved hand to reveal his morpher. "But, I know you're probably going to go for the opposite."

"Correct!" she hissed, hurling out a paw at him. Had he not seen it coming and leaped aside, the blast of electricity would have struck square him in the chest, probably knocking him unconscious at the very least.

As he landed on his side, he clenched his fist together, ready to take the fight to her.

"Cosmosis!"

Transforming into his ranger suit, he jumped to his feet and ran towards her. He managed to get within a few feet of her, before she unleashed a Discharge attack over him, stopping him from moving any closer. Before he could recover, she hit him with a spin kick, knocking him to the ground. Barely managing to recover in time, he rolled onto his back and brought up the Cosmo Blaster at his waist, firing twice at her. Despite both shots hitting her in the body, she only laughed at the attacks, the material of her shirt smoking where it had been burnt.

"Anti-laser lining," she taunted. "Nothing like your little pop gun is going to get through there. Also contains a minor EMP which means it's always going to attract the shot as well. I love technology, don't you? This will go so well with my new weapon..."

That was when the doors opened up behind her, Sandy, Lily, Nick and Diana running in to join in the fray, all of them eager to get some action.

"Ah, more to try and stop me!" Cassandra howled, rounding on them. "This will be fun."

Again, her paws came up, shooting a blast of electricity towards the four rangers. Like Max, all of them had to immediately dodge to avoid taking any damage. Laughing manically, the Ampharine strode forward to try and hunt them down, determined to blast them before they had a chance to morph.

"Cosmosis!" Sandy yelled from behind cover, she and the other three rangers transforming into their suits at the command. Now that she had a weapon to hand, Diana rose up over her cover and took three quick shots at Cassandra, each blast being attracted to her anti-laser jacket.

Leaping out from behind cover, Lily tried to hit the Ampharine with her Cosmo Baton, only for Cassandra to let loose another barrage of electricity and stop her. As the black ranger fell to the ground, Nick sprang onto the scene to try the same action, only going from behind. Again, Cassandra unleashed an electric attack, and although it wasn't quite as effective as it had been on Max or Lily, it did slow the green ranger down enough to allow her to beat him down to the ground.

Rejoicing in her apparent victory, Cassandra heard a whistle behind her, immediately followed by a laugh. Turning to see what Max found so amusing, she clamped her eyes on him...

... Only to realise that he had managed to take up the Nightfire Cannon and was now pointing it at her, the weapon slowly humming into life.

"In times like this," the red ranger called, the weapon gradually charging up. "You have to ask yourself three questions. One, how quickly is this weapon going to charge up. Two, how good is my aim and three... Do you feel lucky? Well, do you?"

As he finished speaking, the weapon finally gave off a beep to signal that it was charged up to its max. With that sound fresh in his ears, the red ranger pulled the trigger. For a moment, he felt nothing, before the weapon let out a tremendous kick. In that moment, he thought that the recoil had been too much and had forced him to miss.

But the scream from Cassandra proved him wrong. The blast overwhelmed her laser proof jacket without any problems. For a moment, he thought that she'd been absolutely obliterated by the blast along with her supposed protection.

Yet, as the smoke cleared, he and the other four rangers saw a metal card drop to the ground with Cassandra's details upon it.

"What the...?" Lily exclaimed. "That's not right."

"I agree with her for once," Sandy said, softly. "That shouldn't have happened. Or, is there something that they aren't telling us about that weapon?"

At her words, Max lifted the weapon up, examining it with interest for a few moments while wondering if there was anything out of the ordinary about it/

"Don't know," he finally conceded. "Guess we'd have to ask someone about it. Whatever it is, let's just get out of here. Worry about it later."

* * *

Walking out of the building, Max still holding the Nightfire Cannon across his shoulders, the first thing that the five rangers saw was Falco waiting for them, the Aerobian tapping his foot as they came across to him.

"Well, Sir," Max said, taking one hand off the weapon to throw a salute. "We got it back. And the culprit who stole it initially is doing some hard time."

"Acathria style," Diana added, a touch unnecessarily. "It wasn't really that tough a test, Commandant."

"Yeah," Nick piped up. "What's our next assignment? Watch a bunch of Dactyle eggs before they hatch?"

"I see," Falco remarked, looking at the Nightfire Cannon while ignoring Nick at the same time. "You did manage to retrieve it from the enemy. Well done!"

"It was nothing, Sir," Max said, holding the weapon in both hands. "Do we have to give this back now?"

"Of course, Cadet Redwood," the Aerobian replied, smiling. "Although, there is one thing that I have to say to you now."

"What's that?" Diana wondered.

"End simulation!"

* * *

At the shout, the five rangers felt the environment change around them, moving from the reception of a majestic office building to a dingy room in the Night Hawk. All five of them were laid in chairs, wearing a strange set of red goggles.

"What the...?" Lily exclaimed. "What the hell is this?"

"Looks like they're awake, Sir," Doctor Katongo remarked, as he went to help them out of the chairs. "And none too happy."

"You can tell he's a Psorian," Nick commented, sarcastically. "He can see us steaming in fury and immediately works out that we're not happy."

"My apologies for this, Cadets," Falco said, wearing a pair of the goggles himself. "But, it was necessary."

"Really?" Diana asked. "I find that quite hard to believe."

"Please, come with me and we will explain everything to you in great detail," Falco replied. "It's not as bad as you may think."

* * *

"So, none of it was real?" Sandy asked, surprised. "I don't understand."

"When you consumed the Hrokner Juice," Falco said, softly. "It knocked you out for several minutes. Enough time for us to get you into the simulation suite. Everything you saw from then on wasn't real. It was a test."

"A test?" Lily asked, still sounding annoyed. "What sort of test?"

As she spoke, Doctor Katongo came into the room, carrying a very familiar small metal case, one which he placed down on the table in front of them.

"Although you may have been placed in a simulated environment, there was one real element in there, apart from yourselves," Falco continued. "And you worked out that it wasn't a Chameleo, thieves that they may be. Because of what you have been doing lately, Doctor Katongo asked for the funding to develop a new weapon for you. The higher powers agreed, he came up with the designs for it, and over the past few days, it has been developed here on the Stronghold. This is why we came here, to pick it up. But, that was not all. I felt that you had to prove you were worthy of using this weapon, so I, in agreement with Doctor Katongo, Gordon, Evelyn and Payne, decided that this test would decide whether or not you should have the right to wield it. Having looked at the simulation results, you did lose the thing at first, but you did get it back. So on that note, you've passed with flying colours. Congratulations."

Nodding at Doctor Katongo, Falco and the rangers watched as the Psorian opened up the case to reveal the Nightfire Cannon.

"I believe you know its name and how to use it," the Aerobian said. "That was another purpose of the simulation. To get you some practice with it as well as prove you were capable of wielding a weapon of such power."

"Yeah, we had to simulate that," Doctor Katongo pointed out. "It's not like we could have done a live action version of that."

Smirking, Max walked over to the desk and picked up the Nightfire Cannon, realising that it was heavier than it had been in the simulation. Or, it could have been that he wasn't in his ranger suit.

"You know the biggest question in all of this?" he asked. "The one thing that makes absolutely no sense at all?"

"Go on," Falco replied.

"Since when did we have a simulation suite on board?"

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Seems a bit lazy, but what can you do. Virtually all the chapter apart from the first and last scenes were a simulation.**

**Actually, it was quite convincing I think. It's probably worth ignoring some of the more ridiculous aspects, because of it being a simulation. Some of it probably wouldn't happen in a non-simulated environment, but what can you do?**

**Thanks for the reviews. As always, they are all welcomed.**

**The next one is entitled Taken. The preview is below.**

**On reflection, the question at the end is quite valid. But, if nothing else, there's another multitude of Poké Aliens named in here, meaning that for those of you who've been keeping track, it's an utter delight.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten, Taken, preview.**

**Lily: Let me see that.**

**Falco: Something on your mind?**

**Lily: I recognise this MO. I know who did it.**

**Sandy: Everyone has a vague idea who did it. Proving it's another matter.**

**Lily: This is something I can do. Let me go for him.**

**?: Unless you do what I say, I will destroy the Night Hawk and everyone on it.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	10. Taken

Chapter Ten. Taken.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_Having defeated the Tyranniking space pirates, the rangers and the crew of the Night Hawk continued on towards the Stronghold. While en route, Doctor Katongo consulted with a Canardian technician about something. Leaving the Night Hawk, Falco informed them that they were to guard a weapon known as the Nightfire Cannon and stop it from being stolen. However, as it was unveiled, they promptly found it swiped from under their noses, forcing them into a desperate search for the thief. Eventually Max worked it out, and the five of them confronted the crook, defeating her with the Nightfire Cannon. Eventually, Falco revealed everything to be a simulation, testing whether or not they were ready for the weapon._

_

* * *

_

"Okay, let's try it one more time," Doctor Katongo said, looking across at the makeshift target range from where he was sat behind a computer. "I just need one more shot with it to accurately complete my calculations and work out what sort of condition the weapon is in."

On the range, the five cadets looked at each other, before Max picked up the Nightfire Cannon again, rolling his eyes.

"You sure I'm best suited to firing this?" he asked. "I mean, if you're wanting to test the recoil and all that, maybe Sandy should..."

"Based on my assessment, you're probably the middle point of physical strength in that group," the Psorian remarked. "Anything you can deal with is something that those slightly below you will be able to cope with, while those above you will be the same."

"I feel mildly insulted at this point," Diana remarked. "Somehow, I'm not sure how. But I imagine that I'm considered one of those two weaker than you. Actually, that's almost certainly it."

"You and Cadet Miele," Doctor Katongo pointed out, much to Nick's chagrin. "But that's just my opinion. I would say that due to her Blackhound heritage, Cadet Yushaa has better than normal physical strength while Cadet Garcia's cybernetic enhancements come into play and give her an obvious advantage there."

"I'd give the Psorian some due," Lily said, smirking. "He obviously knows what he's on about."

Shrugging indifferently, Max quickly made to prepare the weapon, feeling it charge up in his hands.

"Okay, pull!" he called, glancing over to Doctor Katongo. At his order, the Psorian hit a switch, summoning a holographic image of a fully grown Tyrock onto the firing range. Not hesitating, Max brought the weapon to bear and fired at the figure, watching the illusion shatter under the blast. Just like all the previous times he had unleashed the potent blasts from it, he felt the recoil quite heavily.

It was that that he vocalised first as he looked over to the Psorian.

"Is there anything that you can do about the recoil?"

"Sorry, that's not something that can really be managed," Doctor Katongo said, apologetically. "The output of energy is so great that you can't temper the recoil effect without losing some of the punch."

"Knew it'd be something like that," Sandy mused. "Not because of any technical knowledge of the weapon, but just because that's the way mrek pans out."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"What's happening then?" Max asked, looking across the mess hall to where Falco was sat on his own with a cup of hot dark liquid, musing over a series of reports. After the weapon testing session with Doctor Katongo, they'd come up for something to eat. "Anything that we can help out with? Anything at all?"

"There's not a whole lot," Falco replied, not looking up. "The sum total of events worth noticing in the galaxy across the last twelve hours include the robbery of a bank on Tranger where a substantial amount of money was stolen, a grave robbery on Earth where the body of a former officer of G-Force was stolen..."

"That's senseless!" Diana exclaimed. "Desecrating the grave of a law enforcement officer. Honestly, some criminals."

"... An attack on a ship in orbit of Blarg and an assassination on Naki."

"Always cracks me up when I hear about Blarg," Nick commented. "Sounds like a place someone couldn't think of a name for, so they called it that instead."

Giving the green ranger a dirty look, Lily spoke up, directing her request at Falco.

"Let me see that," she said, holding out a hand. "The report on the assassination. I wouldn't mind having a look at it."

"This is classified information, Cadet Yushaa," Falco remarked, before holding it out for her to take. "But not top secret. Something on your mind?"

Not immediately replying, Lily opened up the folder and began to flick through it, a small whistle emerging from her mouth as she dropped it onto the table.

"I recognise this MO," she said, looking back to the Aerobian. "I know who did it."

Looking impressed, Sandy reached over to the folder and took a quick glance over it, her visible eye taking it all in immediately.

"Everyone has a vague idea who did it," the blue ranger remarked. "Proving it's another matter. And I'm impressed you can make that conclusion just by reading a few notes on the hit."

"It's not how many notes are there," Lily pointed out. "It's what is in there. Which would you rather have? A five hundred page book on the movements, actions, crimes and diet of a criminal, or a bit of paper with five words on telling you that he's in that big warehouse."

"If that's the case, it's not very specific," Nick said. "It could be any warehouse. On any planet in any system in... This one universe. Galaxy, whatever you want to call it."

"You're missing the point," Lily replied. "It's probably not the greatest example, but I think it works. Why have a lot of padding when a few to-the-point words will work just as well?"

At that point, Falco got up, a resigned look on his face.

"Cadet Yushaa, a word please," he said, the resignation not masking the hard edge in his voice. "In my office."

"Can I at least finish my orange soda?"

"Now!"

With that, the Aerobian got up and stormed out, just as Chebek and Blister came into the mess hall from another entrance, both in the middle of a discussion while, for some reason, carrying a laser cutter and a welder's mask. No sooner had they sat down, did Lily get up to follow Falco out of the room.

"So, I tell you," Chebek said, speaking louder than he had to. "In piebola, Earth vs. Dinos is one of the biggest rivalries out there. I tell you, when they play each other, it gets really violent. Those piebola hooligans do their best to recreate that epic battle between the two planets from a while ago. Remember, when the Dinosians came back to try and conquer the planet that they had abandoned."

"Apparently they didn't believe in the age old policy of move it and lose it," Blister remarked, sagely. "Then again, they were lead by that guy who was a complete..."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, having taken that much impact to his 'back door' has got to have some effect on his ability to run a planet and coordinate a war."

"I forgot how homophobic you were, Blister," Chebek laughed briefly, before losing his smile. "But, that's not funny. Or right. It's the complete opposite of both."

"Neither is racism, but the Commandant still has it in for Chameleos," Blister pointed out. "But back to piebola rivalry, I personally like it when Zangovia play Sevino. Now that turns out into an actual battle, not just a bunch of drunken humans trying to whale on a bunch of drunken Dinosians. There's that whole bitter enemy thing between the Zangovians and the Vypras. The stadiums fill with rivers of blood when they play each other."

"Ah, guys?" Nick asked, looking over to them. "Hate to break it to you, but those two planets haven't played each other at Piebola for quite a while. For exactly that reason, that the fans kept killing each other, torching the stadium etc. A referee was once hit with a ball of toxic sludge before kick off. Apparently he wasn't wearing neutral enough colours."

"It's a holo classic," Diana remarked. "One minute he's leading the team out, the next minute one of the Vypra's decide that silver is too close to white and throws it at him."

* * *

"Where are you going with this, Cadet?" Falco asked, sat behind his desk. "What do you know about the hit that took place on Naki?"

"Just that some of the specs look similar to something that I recall," the black ranger replied. "Shot in a public place with a KAR-790 Sniper Rifle. One straight through the head and two in the body. Nobody saw anything of the shooter. These are trademarks of the White Death Assassination Society."

"We're well aware about that," Falco said, not looking impressed. "We know it was the White Death, but the question is what can we do about it? What can anyone do about it? It's impossible to get undercover cadets in there, nobody's willing to talk about it. Even those members that we do capture would rather bite out their own tongues than talk."

"I know how to get close to them," Lily replied, jerking her head over to Falco's filing cabinet. "You've read my file, haven't you, Sir?"

"Of course," the Aerobian answered, following her gaze over to the cabinet. "That isn't the issue, Cadet Yushaa."

"What is then?"

"It may seem a little unnecessary and pointless. That was four years ago. You were fifteen when we brought you in. I doubt that the same protocol exists now as it did then."

"This is something I can do," Lily pleaded, her expression changing from confident to desperate. "Let me go for him. I'll not just get the sniper, I can get the guy at the top. Even if their protocol has changed, it's not that much of an issue..."

"Lily," Falco interrupted, the use of her first name startling her into silence. "Do you trust me as your Commandant?"

"Sir, I honestly can't think..."

"Yes or no. Do you trust me as your Commandant?"

"I have faith in you, your judgement and your abilities, Sir," Lily replied, softly. "I don't trust anyone 100%. But, if I were to do so, then you would be at the top of my list. I've come to respect you."

"Thank you. Now, do you recall what happened the last time you rushed off to try and chase down a lead?" the Aerobian asked. "A Mystigar decided to hunt you down. And the White Death have killed more than the Mystigars have over the years."

"I'd still rather fight a member of the White Death than a Mystigar though," Lily replied, quickly. "If it came down to it."

"That's not my point," Falco said. "My point was that you do tend to rush in half cocked. We are going to head to Naki, yet we're all going as a team. Once we land, you are free to sniff around for any leads that you think you might be able to find. Once you find them, you can follow them up on the condition that you let us know your movements so if you do drop off the grid, we can show up and help you."

"You might cramp my style."

"Unfortunately, that comes with the territory. I have faith in your ability to get a result here, Cadet Yushaa. None of us will leave the Night Hawk to come looking for you unless you get an absolute sniff of something for us to come and find."

"Oh... Thanks, I guess."

"I'm putting a lot of trust in you here, Cadet Yushaa," the Aerobian remarked, dryly. "This is something that if you get wrong, a lot of pressure is going to come down on the both of us. I'm sure you intend to do the best that you can, but I'm just giving you that warning."

"And I intend to take that warning on board, Sir."

"Good."

* * *

A few hours after the Night Hawk had landed on Naki, under the pretence of needing to refuel, Lily had slipped away from the ship and began her quest to hunt down the figure behind the recent assassination. The way the White Death had previously operated, to her knowledge had consisted of hiding out above relatively reputable business places while on a planet where a hit needed to be carried out. They would make a deal with the owner to offer protection to him or her on an indefinite basis as long as they sheltered a White Death assassin who was in need of a base of operations.

Still thinking, she kept on walking. As Falco had said, things could have changed in the four years. Maybe the operating practices had been altered, but somehow she doubted it. The handler that she had always worked with had informed her that they had gone about it for the last two hundred years prior, meaning she was staking her entire process on guessing that they weren't going to change it in four.

That was when she saw a possible place that could be linked to her hunch. Although the White Death had an open door policy for members, prompting the inclusion of species far and wide, they all eventually started to take the same demeanour after so long. The dead eyes, the slumped posture. When she saw how the constant killing at the drop of a hat eventually took its toll on the assassins, she couldn't help but feel lucky.

No matter the being, she thought. No matter what species, what mental fortitude and what type of outlook on life, they all end up the same way after a certain amount of time. Even those that enjoy it at first eventually become sick inside.

The Poké Alien stood next to the door had that look. Above the door, there was a sign that revealed the building to be some sort of jewellery store. Thinking it through, it struck her that the place was a perfect place for the White Death to hide out. With that still in mind, she started to walk towards the entrance, determined to get a look inside. The Poké Alien, a blue skinned Tatiarite, a Medicham creature, didn't even give her a second glance as she walked past him.

* * *

Moving into the entrance room of the building, the black ranger was immediately greeted by the owner of the store, the blue haired figure of a male human moving through the rows of golden trinkets with a smile at her.

"Welcome," he said. Although he smiled at her, the grey eyes were narrow on her, as if he didn't quite trust her. "Welcome to Biel's Jewellery Store. How may I help you?"

It was at this point that she noticed his eyes were the same colour as his suit. She found herself wondering if that had been deliberate or accidental. Something about him didn't sit quite right with her, even though he looked to be friendly enough.

"Actually, I'm looking for some..."

"You're in luck," Biel said, clapping his hands together in an exaggeratedly friendly way. "I have something very special in. Alrugian Hago Box. Used to hold memories, thoughts, emotions. You ever been to Alrugia?"

"No, but that's not..."

"Wonderful place," the jeweller continued. "I mean, the horribly whipping deserts aren't nice... Well, to be honest, I've never seen them but you hear such stories, don't you?"

"Are you Mr. Biel?" Lily asked, trying to get a word in and interrupt him before she lost her patience. It was close to happening, her ability to wait wasn't the greatest in the galaxy.

"Actually, I prefer Chester," Biel replied. "But I suppose in the formal sense of this world, I am. I own this place. So, about the Alrugian Box..."

"I'm not interested."

"Ah, tough negotiator," the jeweller said, reaching down under one of the cabinets to take out a surprisingly plain wooden box that had been painted red. "I appreciate that. Have you ever paused to consider your emotions? The exhilaration of joy, the exhilaration of anger, the exhilaration of even getting hurt."

"You need to work on your pitch. You said exhilaration three times there."

"Such is my belief in the power that utilising your own emotion as an aphrodisiac," Biel said, confidently. "You cannot imagine it until you try it. Joy, is pretty explanatory. What about anger... You ever get that angry feeling?"

"I'm feeling a bit of it now," Lily muttered, before raising her voice. "I'm really not interested in the box, so..."

"What about pain?" Biel interrupted. "Have you ever felt the wonders of masochism? Erotic asphyxiation?"

"What?"

"Strangling yourself to enhance pleasure."

"Ok!" Lily exclaimed, slamming both hands down onto the desk. "I'm really not in the mood for this! I just want some information!"

"Information?" Biel asked, sounding surprised at her request. "You want a Nyurian informing pendant? I have one in stock, only two previous owners. Although I am obligated to let you know that both of them did kill themselves, but possibly not of this beautiful little piece."

"White Death!" she yelled. "Are they here or not."  
"What's the code?" Biel asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "If you're a member, then surely that's something that you'll know."

"The code?" she replied, a note of panic unwittingly creeping into her voice. "Of course, the code."

Behind her, the door opened. Without needing to turn around, her sense of smell informed her that the Tatiarite had walked in. Her ears picked up the way in which he cracked his knuckles in anticipation of some action.

"You've got three seconds," the Poké Alien said, darkly. "To either give the man an answer, or get out. If you've done neither by that point, then..."

Deciding that her current approach wasn't working, Lily made the quick decision to change tactics. Turning, she spat in the direction of the Tatiarite, sending a corrosive blast of purple poison at him. Her attack swift, he hadn't had the chance to try and dodge, the attack hitting him in the face. A split second passed before he hit the ground, screaming in pain and clutching at his wounded eyes. Bending down, Lily scooped up the blaster that had dropped from his jacket as he had fallen, moving to point it at Biel.

"Shall we try it again?" she asked. "As I said, I'm really not in the mood."

"Okay, you win," Biel replied, smirking at her. "You can have the Alrugian Hago Box for a decent price. I'll give you it for four hundred credits."

* * *

Eventually, she had managed to prise herself away from Biel and his enterprising tactics of trying to sell things to make her way upstairs to what she assumed was the base of operations for the White Death. Forcing her way into the pair of small rooms above the shop, her suspicions were confirmed by the contents of the inhabitable areas, all the various tell tales signs there. Signs that might not have registered to an ordinary person, yet she knew what to look for. The general order of the room was her first clue, there was barely any mess. If she hadn't known better, she might have said that nobody had lived here for a while.

"And yet," she said, glancing over at the table. She saw crumbs there, accompanied by an empty plate. "There's exhibit A. Exhibit B is the fact that it looks like nobody has been here. Exhibit C..."

Letting it hang, she reached under the table and pulled out a datapad that had been left there.

"... Is right here," she finally finished, turning the item on. "Let's see what instructions you got here."

In her hands, the item was just as she remembered it from her past. It might have been a slightly newer model, yet it worked in exactly the same fashion. Holding down three of the unmarked buttons at the same time, the screen changed to reveal several hidden words.

"Nakatomi Square. 4 PM. Docherty McDonagal."

Putting the item in her pocket, Lily glanced up to the clock to see that there was half an hour left before the event took place. She knew that Nakatomi Square was just around the corner, and it wouldn't take too long for her to get there. With that in mind, she took her radio from her pocket and activated it.

"Night Hawk, come in. This is Cadet Yushaa, over."

"Read you loud and clear, Cadet Yushaa," Payne's voice said, softly. "What's up? Over."

"Need a name check," she said. "Name McDougal, Docherty. Possibly someone native to the planet, but might be an off worlder. Over."

"I'll have Techno 9 run the check," Payne replied. "Anything else? Over."

"Not right now, but if anything comes up, I'll let you know. Over."

* * *

Moving into Nakatomi Square, the black ranger immediately moved over to a decent point, one of the large stone white pillars on the edge of the square and began to lean there, taking in the atmosphere of the area and trying to spot anyone possibly out of the ordinary.

Still looking, Lily was alerted by the beep of the radio in her pocket, immediately moving to fish it out.

"Yeah, this is Lily. Over."

"Cadet Yushaa," Payne's voice said, speaking low and swift over the airwaves. "We've got a match for Docherty McDougal. One possible match on Naki today. McDougal is a senator from the planet Fernando. Over."

"The planet Fernando? Over."

"That's what I said, isn't it? He'll be meeting a sponsor in Nakatomi Square in a few minutes. Why did you want this information? Over."

"I found his name on a datapad," Lily answered. "It was in an apartment I believe might have been inhabited by the assassin. Over."

"That's worrying," Payne said. "Hold on a second, I'll transfer you to the Commandant. Over."

The next thing she heard was Falco's baritone over the connection, the Commandant speaking quickly.

"Cadet Yushaa," he said. "This is indeed worrying. If someone is going to try and kill McDougal, you have to stop them. Alone. We won't be able to get down to help you in time."

"I'll do my best, Sir," she replied, looking around the area. Towering above the square, she could see that there were a few buildings, yet none that really stood out in their design.

"How do you think they'll go about it?"

"My best bet would be that they'll try the sniper route again," Lily remarked, moving away from the pillar. "Just got to figure out where and when the shot will come from."

"We will arrive to back you up shortly," Falco said. "In the meantime, everything... pends... n... you. ...det Yu... ood ... ck."

Shaking the radio, Lily looked down at it, wondering what had just happened. Such was the technology in the item that they would still work almost flawlessly in extreme adverse conditions. In the past, she had heard how one cadet had managed to get one to work in an electric storm.

Her thoughts that the signal had gone were quickly interrupted as a new voice emerged from the device.

"Well, well, well," it said in a dark, crackling tone. "Cadet Yushaa. Most impressive that you managed to work us out to this point."

"Who is this?"

"Have a guess," the voice replied. "Walk away, now. You're not going to stop us from completing our task."  
"Do you really want to bet?" Lily asked, roughly. "Where are you? I'll come over and you can say that to my face."

"Very well," the voice answered. "If that's the way that you want to do things, then on your head be the consequences. I'm in the alley about fifty feet to your right."

Glancing around, the black ranger saw the location in question. Not hesitating, she began to walk over quickly.

* * *

"We're going back down to the planet?" Nick complained. "What was the point of landing, making a big show of refuelling and then coming back up into orbit again?"

"To drop off..."

"Other than to drop Lily off so she can do her lone Blackhound thing," Nick corrected himself. "I mean, wouldn't it have been better to just hang around the space port under the pretence that we need to complete some repairs?"

"The point of this was not to draw attention to Cadet Yushaa on her task," Falco said, verbally reprimanding him. "Having a ship such as ours hanging around on planet would have had the less scrupulous citizens of that planet a fraction more suspicious of someone asking questions."

"What I don't get," Diana mused. "Is why Lily seems to think she can track these guys down. I mean the White Death aren't easy to find. What makes her think that she's going to make it work where everyone else hasn't?"

"She never told you, did she?" Falco asked, bemused. "She has her reasons."

"Reasons for having such a dramatic sense of self belief?" Max asked. "Come on, Sir. What possible reason could there be for her to..."

"You ever wonder about her past?" the Aerobian wondered. "It's all in her personal file. Obviously, I can't reveal the exact nature, but in her past, she has had association with the White Death."

"Oh come on, Sir!" Sandy exclaimed, suddenly looking interested. "You can't leave us hanging on that note."

"Cadet Garcia, I'm not going to tell you any more. If you wish to know, then that is something Cadet Yushaa will have to tell you herself. How would you feel if I started to reveal your personal information without your consent?"

"Mr. Griote," Techno 9 suddenly piped up. "There's something that you should know about."

* * *

"Well, hello, Lily."

Now that she could hear the voice without the electronic interference, Lily felt some shimmer of recognition run through her being. The figure in front of her was a Bluken, a tall Blaziken-like Poké Alien. The majority of the fur on his body was white, while the mane at his head was a powder blue colour. He was also wearing a pair of cream coloured pants and a jacket in the same colour, but with no shirt. In his hand, he held a radio not unlike the one she had in her pocket, albeit with a few minor modifications in comparison to the one she had.

"You!" she exclaimed. "It's you."

"I'm touched that you recall me, Cadet Yushaa," he said. "Touched that you remember good ol' Blazi."

"Blazi Kirzinger," Lily snarled. "Typical that you'd be here. Not that it matters, I'm quite happy to see you."

"A hark back to the good old days?" he asked, his smirk growing by the second. "Which Yushaa is it that's come to see me? The one who whores herself for Cosmo Force, or the one I knew. The one who was so happy bringing about a White Death to those she was paid to dispose of."

Smirking back at him, Lily reached around to her back and brought out the Cosmo Blaster she had brought with her, pointing it at him.

"Guess," she replied. "You're coming with me. Where's the assassin?"

"What assassin?" Blazi answered, grinning. "I'm not worried. Because I know that you're not going to arrest me."

"Oh yeah? What kind of lunatic foresight tells you that?"

"Because I have this," the Bluken said, holding up his radio. As he did so, she managed to get a better look at it, realising that it could have almost doubled for a remote control.

"Unless you do what I say," he snickered, holding the remote up high for her to continue to see. "I will destroy the Night Hawk and everyone on it."

"That's impossible!" Lily snarled, desperate to get at him. She wanted to hurt him as much as was physically possible. "You can't be able to do that."

"I have a mole at the space port. When it came down earlier, he made you all as Cosmo Force. As a result, I paid her quite handsomely so that they could put a few rather neat little explosive devices on board. Just in case something like this happened. Even enabled me to hack into the communication line and draw you here."

"You said he and then changed it to she," Lily suddenly said, forgetting that it wasn't relevant. "Are you...?"

"All in mind to confuse and frustrate you," Blazi replied. "They did do this. Even if you don't believe me when I tell you it, I suggest that you do unless you want to hope and pray for eternal rest."

When she didn't reply, he continued to speak.

"Of course, I could be persuaded to deactivate the bombs," he said. "If someone were to do me a favour. You've cost me the assassin who was going to shoot McDougal. He's not in any fit state to do the job now."

At those words, the Tatiarite who she had encountered at Biel's shop early stepped into view from an offcut of the alley, one side of his face heavily scarred from her blast of corrosive poison, even though it hadn't happened that long ago. The eye on that side of his face was milky white, no longer seeing anything.

"So, I guess if this hit is to go ahead, the only option is for you to step into the breach for poor Jeffrey here."

"Jeffrey?" she asked, startled by the revelation as to the Tatiarite's name. "An assassin that you were going to trust with something like this is called Jeffrey?"

"What's wrong with that?" Jeffrey answered, darkly. He made to take a threatening step towards her, only for Blazi to stop him with an arm.

"Don't rise to it," he warned.

"Yeah," Lily taunted. "Wouldn't want to lose your other eye, would you?"

"Calm it down, Cadet Yushaa," the Bluken said. "Anyway, back to my point. Either McDougal is dead in the next ten minutes or your friends on the Night Hawk are. There's a rifle at the top of that building up there. I think that's what you'll probably want to use, might not be the best career move for you if someone should happen to see you."

"Happy hunting," Jeffrey taunted. "Give him one right between the eyes."

"Oh, and Lily," Blazi called. "Don't try to call in reinforcements. I've got a spook on the communication line..."

* * *

Docherty McDougal was a Landshark, Lily observed, looking through the scope of the rifle. A fully grown one as well, meaning that he had the Garchomp-like appearance in his body, albeit with green scaled skin. Despite wearing an expensive suit, one that appeared to have been custom made to fit his unique appearance, she could tell that he was wearing a protective vest underneath.

"Hence the shot and the eyes comment," she muttered, knowing that she had no choice but to go through with it. At least if she did take down McDougal now, she knew that Blazi was honourable and she and the others could go after him at a later date. That wasn't something that they would be able to do if they were destroyed in a fireball above the planet.

Far below her, the Landshark continued to talk with the being who had given him funding, a black skinned Flottel wearing bright yellow robes. Part of her wondered if the Floatzel-like sponsor had given the order to have the senator killed. It was always a possibility.

"Oh well, nothing but to go with it," she said, tightening her grip on the weapon to help focus her aim. "Sorry that this is the way it had to be."

As her finger crept down towards the trigger, something caught her eye. Something that enabled her to breath a sigh of relief and lower the weapon.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" McDougal demanded, as Max, Sandy, Nick and Diana lead him away from the middle of Nakatomi Square, away to safer areas. "I demand to know what is going on here."

"All we can tell you is that you're in danger, Mr. McDougal," Max said. "And, we're doing it in your best interests."

"Danger? What kind of danger?"

"Someone wants to kill you," Diana offered. "Which has to be annoying for you. But believe me. As long as you're with us, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

As if to prove her wrong, several bursts of laser fire suddenly began to spray the area in front of them. With each of the rangers reacting to the threat by leaping for cover, Nick took the time to shove the Landshark behind some cover as well, despite the annoyed protests from the senator.

"You had to jinx us, huh?" Sandy called, glancing over to where Diana was huddled behind a bench. "Until you spoke up, we were fine. Now we're getting shot at."

"We have to try and stop this lunatic!" Max yelled, seeing the automatic laser blaster wielding Bluken in the distance ahead. "Before someone gets killed."

"Hopefully it won't be us," Diana muttered. "Anyone else want to ranger up?"

"I'm surprised we haven't by now," Nick commented, ready to activate his morpher. As he prepared to morph, something flashed into the corner of his eye line. Something swift and black. "Huh?"

* * *

Running across the square, Lily saw Blazi with his back to her, apparently more focused on trying to wipe out whoever he was shooting at. If she had to wager any of her wages, she would have put it on it being her fellow rangers that had irked him.

Bringing her morpher up, she gave the command, slowly growing to relish the moment.

"Cosmosis!"

Too late, Blazi turned and saw her. Immediately he tried to hit her with the weapon, only for her to duck underneath the blow and kick him in the stomach. Groaning in pain, he threw a slash at her with his claws, the strike managing to break through her attempted block. As she gasped out, having felt the sting of his raking attack, he tried to down her with a spin kick. Again, she dodged the attack and punched him in the stomach, staggering him.

"Where's the threats now?" she hissed, trying to hit him in the face. Her attack would have landed had he not dodged. Opening his mouth up, Blazi coughed up a small flurry of embers towards her, the blasts smashing into her suit and knocking her back.

"Hey!"

Looking around, Blazi saw that the other rangers had gotten out from cover and morphed into their own suits, the four of them now moving towards him.

"Think you should spread the fun around," Max commented. "Yeah? You like that idea?"

Taking the opportunity, Lily moved over to join them, grinning under her helmet.

"Can't believe you guys came," she said. "What about the bombs?"

"Aww, were you worried about us?" Nick asked, sounding like he was smiling as well. "Anyway, turns out it takes more than sneaking a few bombs on board a ship to catch Techno 9 out. She spotted them almost immediately and managed to negate their threat."  
"What?" Blazi howled, having heard them. "No!"

"That's right!" Lily exclaimed, stepping forward. "Both your plans have failed, and it's time for you to know the price of failure! Nightfire Cannon!"

Almost immediately, the weapon materialised in her hands, the black ranger quickly moving to aim it at Blazi.

"You're going to see all your old friends soon," she taunted. "Nightfire Cannon! Fire!"

At her order, the bright red beam erupted out from the weapon, streaking through the air and crashing into Blazi. Thrown back by the blast, the Bluken let out several screams as he crashed into a pillar and slid down onto the ground, badly wounded.

"Didn't take him down completely," Diana said, surprised. "That's... Strange."

"Doesn't matter," Lily replied, pointing her CED at Blazi. "He's going away, it's just a case of putting off the inevita..."

That was when she was cut off by a thunderous crash as a mechanoid charged onto the scene, the psychotic laugh of a Tatiarite ringing out across the Nakatomi Square.

"Who the mrek is piloting that?" Sandy exclaimed.

The one thing that all five of them realised and quickly agreed on was that Jeffrey's mechanoid was something to behold, it was an almost completely white coloured Blaziken with a multitude of black tattoos across its entire body. The most striking of them all was a skull and crossbones across its face.

"You're not going to take us in!" the Tatiarite screamed. "Never!"

"Where are they suddenly getting these mreking mechanoids from?" Diana yelled, annoyed by what was going down in front of them. "It's starting to get me down."

"Never mind that," Lily said. "We need the Cosmo Fighters! Now!"

* * *

Swooping down from the sky above them, the Cosmo Fighters arrived on the scene, the automated transport systems bringing the rangers on board. In response to their arrival, the morph drives activated, transforming the Cosmo Fighter into their Zord forms.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation!" yelled Lily.

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

Not intimidated, Jeffrey began to direct his mechanoid over towards the rangers, activating his controls to attack. The resulting stream of fire quickly raked across the Cosmo Megazord, leaving several burns on the metal, to the apparent anger of some of the rangers.

"That's just rude," Sandy commented. "Leaving burn marks on our Megazord. Think I know what might sort him out. Cyber Pulse!"

Giving her command, the Porygon arm raised up and sent a bright blue beam shooting towards Jeffrey's Mechanoid, the blast bringing the machine to a complete stop. With it immobile, the Cosmo Megazord moved in and kicked the other machine several times.

Recovering some mobility, the Tatiarite in his mechanoid sent a flurry of punches into the upper body of the Megazord, forcing it back away from him.

"You can't win, Rangers," laughed the Poké Alien with the damaged eye. "This is superior."

"Superior like mrek," Diana said. "Giga Slam!"

At once, the legs of the Megazord tensed up, before the robot charged forward to crash a massive glowing headbutt into the chest of Jeffrey's Mechanoid, knocking it onto its back.

"My turn!" Max shouted. "Fire Bomb Blast!"

Immediately, a pair of cannons emerged from the chest of the Cosmo Megazord, sending a barrage of fireballs towards the fallen mechanoid. Rather than let himself be hit by them, Jeffrey moved to counter them, his robot firing a series of fireballs of his own to block them on route to hitting him.

"We have to end this now!" Lily shouted. "Star Blade!"

Raising a hand up to take it, the sword appeared in the grip of the giant machine, quickly being swung to smash into the rising mechanoid.

"Your end is near, Jeffrey!" Nick yelled. "You're going to taste justice!"

"You're right for once, Nick," Lily commented, before raising her voice for the order. "Star Blade Assault."

With the Megazord again bringing the sword up, the blade began to glow with a bright white energy. In quick succession, it slashed out five times, the sheer power enough to send Jeffrey's Mechanoid to the ground where it quickly exploded into countless pieces. Somewhere among them, the rangers knew that the metal card containing his details had landed.

Yet, that was the last thought in Lily's mind as she glanced down from her cockpit towards where she had last seen Blazi. All that remained of him was a puddle of blood, no sign of him anywhere.

"Damn!" she exclaimed, cutting short the rest of the celebrations. "He got away."

"Who?" Sandy asked. "The Bluken? The one who was shooting at us?"

"Do you honestly think I was talking about anyone else?" Lily muttered, grumpily. "Damn, I could have had him."

"Never mind," Max pointed out. "At least we got Jeffrey."

"If that's any consolation," Diana remarked. "Doesn't seem like it."

* * *

"Hmmm..."

Having read through the report, that was Falco's only response as he glanced up at Lily, his face surprisingly neutral.

"That's the honest report, Sir," she said. "Couldn't have done much more."  
"At least you got the shooter," the Aerobian remarked. "That's one thing. A shame that Kirzinger escaped. Having him in custody would have been quite a coup."

"I was wrong, Sir," Lily replied. "I thought that I could get the guy at the top. Something that Kirzinger said when I spoke to him. I don't think White Death has any one being at the top of the structure. There's probably more than one figure in that position, maybe even as many as five, ten or even twelve. That way, if one of them goes, the entire operation doesn't come crumbling down."

"It's a sound operating structure," Falco remarked. "Do you believe Kirzinger is one of them? One of those figures at the top?"

"I have no reason not to. He seemed to wield enough authority to be in that position. Just annoyed that I couldn't get him."

"I'm not unhappy with the results here, Cadet Yushaa," Falco remarked. "Although we look at what we did end up with, it seems like a loss compared to what we could have had. However, thinking back to the start, I think everyone concerned would have been satisfied with the capture of the sniper. Look at it that way."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Dismissed, Cadet!"

* * *

"So..." Nick remarked, looking over at Lily as she came to sit down next to them in the mess hall, a pensive look on her face. "That's one heck of a secret. That you used to be a member of White Death."

"Yeah..." she said, softly. "Long time ago it was. Well, I say a long time. Four years. In the scheme of things, it's nothing, but it's almost a quarter of my life. My parents were both corporate people. I didn't have much contact with them throughout my life. Eventually, I just got sick of all of it and left home when I was thirteen. Nobody knew what had happened to me. I was trying to find my way in life when I encountered someone in an alley. He was pretty drunk, he attacked me. I defended myself and... And I killed him. Generally, no matter how big or tough someone thinks they are, it's not the case after they've had a face full of poison. I just wanted to forget about it, but it turned out that White Death employs a Dead Mans Boots policy."

"Because you'd killed one of them, they wanted you to join them?" Max asked, interested in the story. "That right?"

"It was a straight choice," Lily answered. "Either I join them, or they'd do me in. What do you think I could have done? Over the next two years, I trained with them, conducted a few hits. Nothing I'm really proud of on reflection, but at the time I felt great."

"It's good to take pride in your work," Sandy remarked, listlessly. "So, how'd you end up at Cosmo Force? Seems an odd career change. Then again, they do say the best gamekeeper is the one who used to be a poacher. Or vice versa."

"If you'll be quiet, I'll tell you," Lily said, darkly. "A day after my fifteenth birthday, I got a contract sent to me. A hit on two people, it was a big business dispute. Someone wanted them to conveniently die so that an issue they were involved in would go away. I don't remember what the issue was."

She paused for a moment to take a drink of orange soda, before continuing her story.

"I tracked them down, checked their movements and just waited for the opportunity to come. When the right time came, I went to confront them before I... I never got their names before that moment. A half-breed Blackhound and a Kobrarian. It was my mother and father."

"No!" Diana exclaimed. "So, you didn't go through with the hit?"

"Oh no, I would have gone through with it," Lily replied, casually. "But what I didn't know was that they had a pair of Cosmo Force issue bodyguards with them. By the time I'd realised who they were, those two were on me. I tried to fight them off, but they were pretty good. They took me down without much trouble, before securing me. And I'm going to tell you that being trapped in one of those CED cards is not comfortable."

"I'll agree with you there," Max muttered. "I know that from prior experience."

"Anyway, by the time I was released, the two of them had managed to track down my contact on that planet and they'd arrested him. Because they were happy to have him, they considered me to be expendable. So, one of the Commandants came to talk to me in my holding cell. They offered me a deal. Full pardon on the condition that I entered rehabilitation. Turns out their idea of rehabilitation was sending me to the Cosmo Force academy. Guess they saw something in me. Of course, I wanted to escape at first. On the first night, I managed to break out of my quarters and made a run for it. It didn't last long, they caught me almost immediately. Just as a precaution, I spent the next two months at the academy strapped to my bed at night. I was deemed a flight risk and it was designed to prevent me doing that. I still tried to work a way out of it, but it was hopeless."

"Then what happened?" Nick wondered. "Or, you could let me guess. You started to enjoy it, right?"

"When the end of that two month period arrived and I was aloud to sleep without being tied down, I found that I didn't want to escape," Lily replied. "I enjoyed it in the academy. I personally think it made me a better person."

"Wow," Diana commented. "If what we get now is you as a better person, I wonder what the one prior to going into the academy was like."

"Mrek you, Diana!"

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Well, I hope that you enjoyed that. More insight into Lily's past.**

**Anyway... PIEBOLA! That's apparently what football is called in the future. The English variety of football, not the American Rugby version.**

**Good thing Techno 9 is pretty sharp. Otherwise it could have all gone horribly wrong.**

**Thanks for the reviews, all appreciated a lot.**

**Personally, I think that might be the best name for a villain I've ever had. Jeffrey.**

**Also, where does that jeweller look familiar from?**

**The next one is entitled Fire. Short and simple. Preview below.**

**This is the quarter way point. Unbelievably.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eleven, Fire, preview.**

**Golde: Something's coming up on the scanner, Sir.**

**?: We need urgent assistance. Fires have broken out all across our planet. **

**Nick: It came from Forestrin?**

**Diana: Isn't that the place where you were changed.**

**Nick: He's acting strange. Well, stranger than normal.**

**Sandy: Can a guy with three heads ever act normal?**

**Lily: Can a guy with one head act normal, never mind three.**

**

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**

**Coming soon.**


	11. Fire

Chapter Eleven. Fire.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After gaining the Nightfire Cannon, Lily overheard the details of a report involving an assassination. Having had her experiences with the White Death in the past, she begged Falco for the chance to go out and try to catch whoever did it, eventually succeeding. Getting dropped off on the planet Naki, she managed to track down Blazi Kirzinger and Jeffrey, the two individuals who were behind the attack, with the help of a jeweller. Although Blazi tried to make her shoot a senator, his ruse was defused, and in a battle, the rangers managed to take down Jeffrey, only for Blazi to escape. After that, Lily revealed some of her past..._

_

* * *

_

"I've got eight zephyrs," Nick said, placing his cards down on the table in front of him. "If you can match that, then you win. Plain and simple."

"Nah, I'm out," Chebek commented. "Only got four nardiellos, three hayters and three busted fluctuations."

"Ditto," Blister said, dropping his own cards down. "The last two zephyrs, six hayters and..."

"Is this something that we need to go through?" Max wondered, slamming his own cards down in frustration. "Nick's clearly won this hand, so let's just give him the money and shuffle again. Or stop playing, I don't care either way."

"Just because you're losing," Chebek said, smugly. After much endless debate, the two mechanics of the Night Hawk had decided to challenge Max and Nick to several games of Jackpot Hoarder. In order to play said game, four players were needed. Each contestant would be dealt ten cards. In the pack there were four suites of cards, zephyrs, nardiellos, hayters and busted fluctuations. The aim being to gather more cards of a single suite in a round than the rest of the competitors, the exception being the comparatively useless busted fluctuations. Cards could be exchanged, yet that held a certain amount of risk in it, the smart player using it as an opportunity to dump unwanted cards with the hope of getting something better.

"Please, I'm not annoyed because I'm losing at this stupid game," Max retorted. "I'm annoyed because I'm playing the stupid game badly."

"That's the same thing, isn't it?" Blister wondered.

"Nah," Nick replied, starting to shuffle the pack of cards and deal them out again. "Playing badly is part of your own control. Losing is because the opponent is, this is me by the way. I be the metaphorical opponent who I speak so proudly of here, because this amazing opponent is playing so much better."

"And being modest, huh?" Chebek asked. "I miss the holo chessboard we used to have. But, the pieces broke their programming and went on the rampage. Last time we saw it, Falco put his fist through it because of that. Whoever said that those who play chess can outsmart those who use brute force got it completely wrong there."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"I'm still sure that was a waste of time."

"Shut up," Max smirked, counting the thick roll of credits that he now held in his hand. "Just because Nick 'the opponent' Miele crashed and burned after proclaiming to be the best that's ever been and lost the equivalent of eight months wages... Why would that be a waste of time?"

"Eight months wages..." Nick said, dolefully. "It was only supposed to be a friendly game."

"Good job we were being friendly," Max quipped. "Otherwise you might be in serious financial trouble. Could have been two years worth of credits. Thinking of what to do with my winnings. Maybe I'll buy a Hippowdon."

"Why would you want one of them?" Nick asked. "Can't you just go befriend a Tamusp and do it that way."

"Because I want to train one of them up and see if it's better at Jackpot Hoarder than you," Max taunted, before patting him on the shoulder. "Cheer up, mate. I'm sure things can only get better for you here on in."

It was Nick's turn to snicker as he placed his own hand on Max's shoulder and activated his energy draining ability. Before the red ranger knew what had happened, he had collapsed to his knees, Nick moving to grab the credits out of his hands and run for it.

"Hey!"

* * *

All was quiet in the cockpit, apart from the constant breathing of Falco, Golde and Payne, the three of them all focused on whatever they were doing. Towards the back of the small room, Falco was reading a report that had been sent through in the last half an hour, Payne was checking some star charts, while Golde had his full focus on piloting the ship. At least until the ships communication line started to beep, the soft sound gradually growing louder to try and get the attention of the three beings within proximity.

"Something's coming up on the scanner, Sir," Golde said, breaking out of his state of concentration. "General distress signal."

"Where are we?" Falco asked, immediately alert to the danger. "Closest planet?"

"Forestrin," Payne replied, glancing up from the charts. "It's about half an hour away if we engage the hyper-speed generator."

"Let's hear the distress signal," Falco said. "Play it."

At the order, Golde reached over and flicked a few buttons next to him, a crackled voice immediately filling the cockpit.

"This is High Prist Etor Xee!" the voice exclaimed, the urgency clearly audible. "I call on the behalf of the Forestrin people, we need urgent assistance. Fires have broken out all across our planet, the cause unknown and we request help in any fashion that you may be able to give."

After that, the message went dead, silence filling the void left by the message, until Golde spoke up.

"What we doing, Commandant?" he asked. "Shall I set a course for Forestrin?"

"Might as well check it out," Falco replied, turning to leave the cockpit. "We've nothing else on right now. I'll go inform the cadets, tell them to get ready to leave."

* * *

Sprinting around the corner of the corridor, Max caught up with Nick and tackled the surprised green ranger to the ground.

"Where's my credits, mrekhead?" he demanded. "I won those fair and square."

"Just a joke, man," Nick groaned. "Can you take your knee out of my ribs, I can't quite breath."

"Look at this!"

Hearing the voice from above them, the two rangers looked around to see Lily and Diana stood watching them with barely concealed amusement.

"Always wondered about you two," Diana commented, her amusement quickly evolving into a smirk. "Now I guess we know."

"It's not what it looks like," Max replied, taking the money from Nick and getting up. "Just a little disagreement."

"Right," Lily said, in a tone that suggested she didn't believe him, before her eyes fell on the thick pack of credits. "You two rob a bank?"

"Nah, won it," Max replied. "Jackpot Hoarder."

"Really, that the best excuse you can come out with?" Diana smirked. "Thought the other thing might be less embarrassing."

"Oh ha ha," Nick said, picking himself up before rubbing his stomach. "What about you two? What were you doing? Come to think of it, where's Sandy?"

"Sandy is in the computer room, checking something," Lily replied. "We've just been doing some sparring."

"Explains that massive bruise on your eye," Max snickered, trying to make a joke. "Looks like she gave you one hell of a..."

"There's no bruise on my eye, moron," the black ranger said, not amused. "And even if there was, you wouldn't be able to see it."

"She's got you there," Diana commented. "No more than you can see a mark on a big shaggy carpet."

"Did you just compare me to a big shaggy carpet?" Lily demanded, giving the yellow ranger a dirty look. "Thanks for that."

"Any time, any place."

Before the two of them could continue their argument, they heard a cough behind them, immediately turning to stand at attention as Falco strode onto the scene.

"Good," he said, not paying them a second glance. "Everything good, cadets?"

"Not bad, Sir," Max replied. "What about you?"

Rather than answer, the Aerobian instead cleared his throat again and folded his arms behind his back.

"Find Cadet Garcia and the five of you are to mobilise right away," he said. "Go to the shuttle and head down to the planet we're approaching to."

"Which planet is it, Sir?" Lily asked. "What are the circumstances?"

"The planet is Forestrin," Falco answered. "Huge chunks of the forests are on fire, they've sent out a distress signal to request aid. Aid that the five of you are going to go and give."

"Distress signal," Max said, nodding. "Got it. Any ideas what started the fires?"

"None," the Aerobian Commandant replied. "However, I've had Techno 9 process what information we have. The fires started a little over half a day ago. There weren't any new arrivals on planet for over a day before then, meaning that it wasn't an off-worlder who started them."

"It came from Forestrin?" Nick asked, surprised by the revelation. "That's interesting."

"Isn't that the place where you were changed?" Diana wondered. "Given the way you've spoken about the experience, I'd have thought that you'd have mixed feelings about it being on fire."

"I don't love the place," the green ranger replied. "On the other hand, I don't want it to burn down."

"You have experience of this planet, Cadet Miele," Falco said. "Therefore I'm placing you in temporary command of the squad for this mission. Cadet Redwood will be your second in command."

"Oh lovely," Nick replied, rubbing his hands together. "Can I just make a point about this before we go?"

"Please do if you think it's relevant."

"The interesting thing about this," Nick said, nodding slightly at Falco. "Is that there's not really any native species to Forestrin. If there are, it's probably the Geckile. They're probably the most indigenous that you're going to get. But, it's more just a haven for all sorts of grass type Poké Aliens. Everyone who lives there has made a conscious choice to do so. I just can't see any of the natives making the willing choice to start burning parts of it down."

"Mental illness maybe?" Lily asked. "That might be one possible explanation."

"I doubt it, but maybe," Nick said. "Or it could have been someone not in control of their own actions. Now what do we know of that can take control of living beings?"

"Oblivings?" Diana asked, surprised by his train of thought. "Really? You really think that?"  
"I think it's a possibility," Nick answered. "I'm not saying that's what's happening, but I'm saying that it's a possibility. I believe we're primed to always be prepared for the unexpected."

"He has a point," Falco interrupted. "I want you down on the planet immediately. Just remember, finding out what caused it is not your immediate priority. Helping stranded beings, putting out fires... Those are your priorities. That said, if you do happen across a viable lead worth following, I expect you to pursue it."

* * *

"So, where do we go to first?" Sandy asked, walking out of the shuttle, before taking a deep inhale of breath. "Woah, you can smell that smoke in the air."

"That's not smoke per se," Nick pointed out. "It's a smokewood tree. A tree native to this planet that smells like it's perennially on fire."

"Oh. Where's it coming from?" the blue ranger wondered, glancing around. "Because..."

"Our landing pad is made of it," Nick said, kicking the ground twice. "That's one of the great things about smokewood. It's virtually completely fireproof. Even the heat from the jets on a Class Ten cruiser don't burn it."

"Learn something new everyday, huh?" Diana muttered, glancing around their surroundings. The first word that emerged in her head to describe the planet was green. As far as the eye could see, there was an almost endless ocean of trees, some larger than others. Some had been resculpted to form homes, factories and in the case of the one that they were stood on, a landing pad. Virtually all of the huge trees were linked together by sturdy looking bridges. "This is an unusual planet."

"I know, right?" Nick said, before looking over at Max with a smug smirk. "Try not to set anything on fire."

"Why would I do that?" the red ranger asked. "I'm here to put some fires out, not start them. Plus, if it's smokewood..."

"Not all of it is though," Nick corrected. "So don't think that it is."

"Great," Lily muttered, reaching back into the shuttle to start the process of pulling out a large tank of water. "Sandy, give me a hand with this."

"We'll grab the hoses," Max offered, stepping around the thick metal object to attempt to get into the shuttle from the other entrance. As he did so, he started to toss the spraying devices to Diana. "This should help them out, right?"

"What should we do?" Diana wondered, moving to hang the items on the water tank. "Other than hire a hover trolley to carry this stuff around."

"Guess we go and find the High Priest," Nick said. "Follow me."

* * *

"Oh look at that!"

Hearing the shout, the rangers looked to see a female Continerrian, a huge humanoid Torterra-like Poké Alien with yellow skin. She had thick muscles, a large shell upon her back which a pair of short trees grew from and stubby limbs, while her face resembled a traditional Torterra. She was wearing dark blue overalls and a white apron.

"A firestarter!" she bellowed into the trees, before gesturing at Max. "I've found the one whose trying to roast us in our shells."

At that, a male Geranian stuff his head out of the window of a nearby home to see what was going on, and to offer his own opinion.

"Shut up, Woman!" he yelled. "Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

"Ah, Geranian," Sandy said, a dreamy smile on her face. "The lotharios of the grass type section of Poké Aliens."

"One tried to solicit me on Berisya," Max remarked. "If that's true, think I should have taken her up on the offer."

"You, Sir, are a blight!" the Continerrian called, not paying any attention to the Geranian as she kept her focus on Max. "Hope you drown in the nearest lake..."

"Yeah, I bet that's going to happen," Lily commented. "If there was that much natural water on this planet, they wouldn't need to ferry it in from other planets."

"... Freeze in the coldest depths of Lake Cytriol!" the Continerrian continued, clearly starting to annoy Max. Everyone present could tell that by the way his eyes twitched with outrage.

"There is one lake," Nick said, glancing up at the outline of trees above them. "As she just said, but... Heh, Sandy."

"Yeah."

"Check it out," the green ranger snickered, gesturing up at the sky. "Leafstalker."

"Oh ha ha," the blue ranger muttered, glancing up to where Nick was gesturing to the Shiftry-like Poké Alien, sat on a branch eating something. "Nah, it's male. Prefer female Leafstalkers, if you get what I mean."

"Really, wow," Max said, without thinking. "That's... er... Cool."

"Shut up, Blight," Sandy retorted. "Don't get too excited, you might start a fire."

* * *

"Here we have it," Nick said, gesturing to what seemed to be the equivalent of a mansion fashioned out of an absolutely massive tree in front of them. It was a mansion compared to some of the other homes that they had seen, complete with a pair of Snaptrapper guards in front of the entrance, the Carnivine-like Poké Aliens not looking like they were in the greatest mood. "The home of Etor Xee. The High Priest of this planet."

"Guess that means he gets a bigger house than everyone else," Lily commented, raising an eyebrow in surprise as she tried to take in the full size of the abode in front of them. "Mrek!"

"Ah, it's only a symbolic title," Nick explained. "There's no religious connotations to it, it just means that he's a recognised leader of the inhabitants of this planet."

"Shall we go in and see him then?" Max asked, looking around. "Before we get very much older?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Blight," Nick remarked, smirking. "Think that name might stick?"

"I hope not," the red ranger muttered. "Otherwise I'm really might start burning things."

"Pyromania is the first sign of being a serial killer," Diana pointed out. "Or something to that effect. No, wait, first sign of being a demented lunatic. Are you a demented lunatic?"

"Only on my days off."

"So no then?"

"I can't be the only one already getting weary of this conversation," Sandy remarked. "It's getting desperate."

* * *

"Welcoming prestigious guests to the home of High Priest Etor Xee!"

"Look at that," Lily remarked, glancing around at the speaker, a Rosekian in the Roselia stage of life. "We've been announced. Just like royalty."

"He is practically royalty," Diana reminded her, as the figure of Etor Xee turned around to see who had arrived in his home. He was an Exegguri, an Exeggutor figure with long red leaves emerging out of his three heads. Each of his three heads had a large red beard, and while he wore a set of expensive look black robes, he also had a pair of mechanical arms strapped to his upper body. "As Nick seems to enjoy telling us."

"Greetings," he said, his three heads speaking at the same time in perfect sync. "Welcome to my home. As Young Rinelli proclaimed..."

His left hand gestured at the Rosekian stood by the door, the figure straightening up slightly at the attention he was being shown.

"... I am Etor Xee. High Priest of Forestrin."

"Nice to meet you," Max said, smiling weakly at the figure. "Good of you to accept us so quickly."

"It's good to see you again," Nick remarked. "I met you a few years ago when I was here..."

"Ah, I remember," Xee replied, giving the green ranger a quick glance. "You touched something that you shouldn't have, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, but no need to go into detail," Nick quickly said. "We're with Cosmo Force, here to offer aid with the fires."

"The fires?" Xee asked, looking puzzled. "The fires? Oh, those fires. Yes, we have a problem with fires."

"Oh brilliant," Lily muttered, leaning her head close to both Sandy and Diana. "He's gone senile."

"Doesn't look that old, I don't think," Sandy remarked, before speaking up, directing her voice at Xee. "So how can we help with these fires? We've brought a tank containing a hundred litres of water to help put them out. It's about all we can spare, but you're welcome to it."

"To be sure, to be sure," Xee mused. "Your efforts are most generous. Well, if you want to help out any further, I'm sure that there's something that can be done. There always is something that we need help with."

"Anything more particular?"

"To be sure," the Exegguri repeated, turning away. The five of them were apparently already forgotten as he left the room, leaving them alone.

"Well, that was helpful," Max said, sarcastically. "Might as well have asked the wall."

"He's acting strange," Nick remarked, shooting a glance back around at where Xee had gone. "Well, stranger than normal."

"Can a guy with three heads ever act normal?" Sandy asked, rhetorically. "At least by our standards anyway."

"That's not the question you should be asking, Sand," Lily remarked. "Can a guy with one head act normal, never mind three."

"Someone's got issues," Max commented, grinning at the black ranger. "Well, we knew that anyway, so it's not like I'm saying anything new."

"Shut up, Blight."

"Oh mrek, that's come up again."

* * *

Sprinting through the trees in his Geckile form, Nick smelt the smoke below him. Glancing down, he saw the source, flames in a circle surrounding the Shloomic below. Ignoring the strange ring pattern of the flames for the moment, he dropped down through the air, landing on the outside of the circle.

"Need some help?" he asked, the pink skinned Breloom-like figure behind the fires immediately looking up to see who had spoken.

"Please!" she exclaimed, straightening up to show some decorum. "I do need help!"  
He could see the fear in her eyes, could hear the desperate tinge in her voice. That forced his hand, removing any hesitation. Tensing his legs, Nick leaped up several feet into the air, throwing himself over the flames. Wrapping his arms around the stomach of the Shloomic, he mirrored the action, hurdling over the flames at the other side to land safely on the cold grass.

"You okay?"

* * *

"Let's do it then!"

Grunting with the effort, Max, Lily and Sandy managed to pull up the bridge from where one end of it had collapsed, due to the ropes at one end being burned away.

"You know, these aren't rope," Sandy remarked, glancing down at the thick green stuff they had previously assumed was rope. "I've just noticed. They're vines."

"I don't care," Lily grunted. "Think you can manage it?"

"Please," Max said, grabbing up the damaged end of the bridge, with great effort. "Have some faith. I can do this. Besides, even if I do screw it up, I just have to keep hold of it and I won't fall a thousand feet and die."

"I'm sure there's a better way to do this," Sandy remarked, looking at the fifteen foot gap between the tree they were currently stood on and the nearest one. "Max, this is insane."

"Aww, you worried about me?" the red ranger asked, starting to walk back to get a run up. "I'm not."

"Not about you," Lily smirked. "More about your morpher most likely. Best hand it over, and..."

"Well, if I do fall, then I'll make sure that I don't land on it," Max quipped. "I'll jump over the gap, taking the bridge with me. Then, when I get over there, I'll do as best a job as I can to hold it there until it can be secured in place."

"Still think you're a moron for doing it," Sandy remarked. In contrast, Lily grinned and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

* * *

"Fire! Not literally!"

With that order, Diana brought up the hose, connected to the tank that they had brought with them from the Night Hawk, and began to spray the flames with water. Sweeping the nozzle back and forth, her vigorous action soon managed to bring the flames scorching the trees down, first to a minimum and then finally to nothing.

Cutting off the flow of water, the yellow ranger turned to try and find another patch of flames to deal with. She couldn't help but notice the careful growing of smokewood trees across the planet had prevented the fires from spreading too drastically, and although the waves of fire were numerous, there wasn't too much danger of the entire range of forest going up in flames.

"My head hurts from working all this out," she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

* * *

"Well, he was partly right," Max commented, looking across at the rest of the cadets. After completing their tasks, the five of them had met back up outside the home of Etor Xee to plan their next move. "If we wander around enough, we will find some small way of helping."

"Might not have been much, but we made a difference here today," Diana commented, sat on the empty tank that had contained water. "In the end, I suppose that's all we can really aim to do. We've helped out the people of Forestrin in our own small ways, but can we really do much more?"

"She has a point," Sandy pointed out. "We've no leads on how the fires started, and there are other people in the galaxy who need help."

"Guess I'll go and inform the High Priest that we've done as much as we can with aid, then," Nick said. "You guys wait here until I come back and we'll head back to the shuttle together."

"Anyone else think that he's looking like he really enjoys the leadership role," Max commented, dryly. "Shame."

"That's an interesting point of view," Lily remarked, rolling her eyes. "Bit cocky of you to assume you're going to get command of team operations back as soon as this mission is over."

"She has a point," Diana commented, clearly enjoying the way Max was suddenly squirming. "Maybe Falco'll be impressed with the way Nick's doing things and make it a permanent amendment."

"Fine, I don't care," Max muttered. "It's not that important to me. Other than the bragging rights."

* * *

Walking into what he had come to think of as the throne room since the last visit to the home of Etor Xee, Nick heard voices on the other side of the door. Pausing outside, he couldn't help but hear some of it. And what he did hear startled him completely.

"They came here, didn't they? Looks like our plot to draw them here worked."

"Shame you didn't do a more convincing job of senility. Could have sent them into a deadly trap."

"Maybe we still can. When they come back, I'll come up with something."

"This I've got to see."

He could hear that one of the voices was Xee, one of them was Rinelli, the Rosekian who had announced their presence earlier.

"Maybe the chasm of the Bomarriors?" Xee mused. "That threat could chill them to their souls."

"Good one, Sir!" Rinelli cackled. "Good joke. You want me to go and find them, draw them here and see if we can continue to fool them?"  
"That's an excellent idea, Rinelli."

As that was said, Nick heard footsteps coming towards the door, and by proxy, himself. Immediately, he knew he had a choice to make, whether to go along with the ruse, or take action. There were only two of them, maybe he could take them with the element of surprise...

The door opened up in front of him, the surprise element immediately lost to him. Throwing up his hand, he activated the CED and sent an orb crashing into Rinelli. With barely a cry of fear, the Rosekian was sucked inside, automatically transported to Acathria. The metal card containing his details had barely hit the ground before Xee turned to see the source of the noise.

"You!" he bellowed, taking a step forward. "How dare you arrest my servant!"

"Oh, can the mrek!" Nick retorted. "Heard it all, you're not going to fool me! I'm not that easily fooled."

"You didn't catch on when first we met," Xee said, sarcastically. "Are you really sure that you heard what you thought you heard?"

"Why, Etor?" the green ranger wondered. "Was it you who started the fires? Why did you do it? Why would you want to draw us here?"

Rather than answering him, the six eyes of the Exegguri turned black, a cruel smirk flashing across the three mouths.

"Oh, that," Nick said, realising. "Obliving."

Behind him, the doors slammed shut, trapping the green ranger in the room.

"Correct!" Xee laughed, folding his mechanical arms. "Now, are you going to surrender, or not? How hard do you want to make this?"  
"No harder than it has to be!" Nick replied, bringing up the fist upon which he wore his morpher. "Let's get this on!"

* * *

Outside the palace, the remaining four rangers found themselves still waiting for Nick, all of them starting to feel bored.

"What do you think about this then?" Sandy wondered, glancing around the area. "Out of all the beings on this planet, any of them seem likely to go and burn stuff down?"

"Nah, they all seem like a bunch of pacifists," Lily grunted. "Which helps nobody at all. That kind of 'we don't want to fight anyone' attitude will inevitably lead to a fight."

"Wait, how does that work?" Diana piped up, suddenly. "I wouldn't mind knowing that if you care to explain."

"Because, the logic is that if you go around saying that you don't want a fight, someone might get scared and come to fight you before you can do it then."

"Have you been sniffing the smokewood a little too much?" Max wondered, craning his head to look at the black ranger. "That stuff has some potency if you..."

"What are you implying?" Lily demanded, crossly. "Now, where is he? He should be back by now."

* * *

Morphing into his Geckile form, Nick hurled himself across the room to try and get Xee, only to slam his own face into an invisible barrier, one which had sprung up from nowhere.

"One great thing about this body," the Obliving inside Xee commented. "The psychic powers. Love having them."

Grunting in pain, Nick sprang to his feet and threw a kick at the High Priest, this blow catching him in the stomach. Sensing an opportunity, the green ranger tried to grab him, hopeful to try and drain his energy.

Xee was just a fraction too wily to fall for it. No sooner had Nick's hand closed in on him, he threw out both mechanical arms and sent a pair of punches to the face of the green ranger, hurling him onto his back.

Picking himself up again, Nick realised that he'd had enough, again bringing his morpher up.

"You've forced my hand here," he warned. "Cosmosis!"

His morpher firing up, he was immediately transformed into his ranger suit, moving into a fighting stance. Xee didn't look impressed.

"Big deal," he remarked, almost as if to emphasise his point. "So you morphed. See if I..."

He never got to finish, as Nick threw out a kick and struck him in the face, knocking him back.

"You'll pay for that!" he hissed, before his arms came up and grabbed the green ranger by the shoulders. Despite Nick's best efforts to break out of the grip, he quickly realised it wasn't going to happen, and was promptly hurled back through the air, his body slamming against the locked doors.

"Hurts, doesn't it!" Xee taunted. "You're all alone, green ranger. Nothing you do will be enough to defeat me! You don't have what it takes."

Behind Nick, the doors suddenly slammed open to reveal the rest of the rangers there, none of them morphed.

"What?" the Obliving inside the High Priest roared. When he couldn't think of anything else to say, he repeated it. "What!"

"Spread the fun around, why don't you?" Max asked. "Anyone else for rangering up?"

"I really hate that phrase," Lily muttered. "But, it's quite catchy."

"Cosmosis!"

As they transformed into the ranger suits, Xee didn't respond with words, instead clapping both hands together to bring a group of Oblivings up out of the shadows.

"Let's do this!" Nick exclaimed. "Bring it on!"

Rushing into battle, he ducked underneath the attack of the Obliving closest to him before kicking it in the stomach to throw it back. Another came in, only to be taken down in the same fashion. Next to him, Lily punched one several times in the face, before it could respond to take it down. Bringing her Cosmo Baton up, she smashed her weapon through the face of another one, taking it down. Sandy jumped up into the air, evading an attack from two that were trying to attack her, only for them both to get repeatedly blasted as she fired the Cosmo Blaster at them several times. As Diana crouched down to dodge a blow from an Obliving attacking her, she brought back her fist. With her entire hand glowing with a white light...

"Mega Punch!"

... She threw the blow, smashing straight through the shadow creature. Finally, Max was fighting three of them. Dodging a series of attacks from them, he hit one with a back kick to knock it away, only to get shoved forward. Before he could fall, he used a wall to regain his momentum, spin around and bring out his Cosmo Blaster. None of the Oblivings could react as they were downed by the laser fire.

Behind the Oblivings, Xee had apparently made the decision that it was a bad idea to stick around and turned to run and jump out of the closest window, throwing himself through the glass.

"What a wimp!" Sandy muttered. "Not standing to fight, is he?"

"I'm amazed you expected an Obliving to be brave," Diana remarked, she and the other rangers already heading for the door. "Let's get after him."

* * *

Having landed on the grass outside his former home, Xee had already made a break for it, only for the shout to halt him.

"Stop!"  
Behind him, the rangers had caught up, the five of them running towards him. Shaking his heads, he opened his mouth and launched several Egg Bombs at them, the blasts not even fazing them as they ran towards him.

"Uh oh," he muttered, seeing them stop. "Can't you just leave me alone?"

"It's not that simple," Nick replied, stepping forward and holding out his arms. "It's our duty to take you in. At least until we can find a way to get rid of the Obliving."

"But, I am the Obliving!" Xee roared. "No getting rid of me!"

"Then that makes it easier," Nick replied. "Nightfire Cannon!"

Responding to his command, the weapon immediately appeared within the hands of the green ranger, Nick pointing it at the Exegguri.

"Apologies to Mr. Xee," he said, the weapon charging up. "I hope he understands. Nightfire Cannon! Fire!"

The bright red beam of energy erupted from the weapon, streaking through the air to hit Xee in the chest. Letting out a roar of agony, he collapsed to his knees, apparently almost defeated.

"You think you can defeat me?" he asked, his voice weak. "It's not going to happen. The dark tendrils of Oblivion are expanding..."

"Wait a second," Lily said, suddenly sounding worried. "I've heard that before."

Proving her right, the black energy in Xee's eyes suddenly increased tenfold as the Exegguri got back to his feet. His entire body began to shine with a black energy, before he shot up to many times his normal size, a thunderous roar of laughter ringing out of his multiple jaws as he towered over them.

"Man, he looks annoyed with us!" Diana commented, looking up at his faces. "Think we're going to get lynched for trying to arrest the leader of this planet?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," Max said. "Either way, it might be a good idea not to stick around when this gets finished."

"We need the Cosmo Fighters!" Nick yelled, ignoring both of them. "Now!"

* * *

Swooping down from the sky above them, the Cosmo Fighters arrived on the scene, the automated transport systems bringing the rangers on board. In response to their arrival, the morph drives activated, transforming the Cosmo Fighter into their Zord forms.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation!" Nick said.

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

Not waiting for them to settle, Xee started to move towards them, his eyes burning with black flames. Springing up, he hit the Cosmo Megazord with a roundhouse kick that knocked it back.

"He hits hard, huh?" Lily said, groaning as several large sparks erupted from the console in front of her. "Anyone else really wanting to..."

Before she could finish revealing what she wanted to do, Xee unleashed his psychic powers into the fray, not targeting the Cosmo Megazord but rather one of the trees around them. Ripping it straight out of the ground, he sent the huge wooden makeshift spear towards the robot, the powerful blow knocking the Cosmo Megazord off its feet, where it was pinned underneath the tree.

"Nick!" Max yelled, trying to get the machine back onto its feet. "This tree isn't smokewood, is it?"

"I don't know, I can't smell it from here!" the green ranger retorted. "Why, what do you have planned?"

"This! Fire Bomb Blast!"

At Max's order, a pair of cannons emerged from the chest of the Cosmo Megazord, firing out a barrage of fire balls that almost immediately crashed into the tree pinning them to the ground. All five of the rangers were relieved to see it incinerated by the attack.

"Nice thinking, Max," Diana said, sounding relieved. "Now, I've got an idea for attacking. Giga Slam!"

After getting to its feet, the Megazord immediately began to tense its legs, before charging towards Xee, its head starting to glow with a golden energy...

... Only to crash into another invisible wall, to the amusement of Xee who started to laugh again.

"You've just disproved the theory that you can't hit what you can't see," he chuckled. "I'll confuse you, yes I will."

Again, he attacked, unleashing his psychic attacks to focus on the Megazord itself. With no protection against the power of his mind, the giant robot was quickly hurled back to the ground. Struggling against the threat of the High Priest, their worries were compounded as he unleashed another barrage of Egg Bombs against them.

"Any suggestions?" Max asked. "Because we might be in trouble here."

"I have an idea," Lily said, the Megazord getting to its feet and starting to move towards Xee as she spoke. "Shadow Uppercut!"

Again, the Megazord charged forward, the Mightyena arm coming up. As it glowed with black energy for a moment, the five rangers felt like it had caught on something, before the invisible barrier shattered underneath the dark type blow. Ahead of them, Xee was suddenly sent staggering back by the shards of the broken shield, the wounds appearing on his body quickly.

"That did it!" Nick shouted, punching the air. "Nice job, Lily."

"It's time to finish this guy off!" Max yelled. "Go for it, Nick!"

"Right!" the green ranger shouted. "Star Blade!"

Responding to his command, the sword appeared in the hand of the Megazord, the giant robot immediately going to slash at Xee with the weapon.

"You're finished!" Nick said. "Star Blade Assault!"

Straight away, the blade began to glow with a pure white energy, before the Cosmo Megazord swept out with the sword, landing five slashes quickly. As he took each blow, Xee let out a scream, and as the final blow took him down to the ground, his body was completely overpowered by the attack, exploding.

"We did it!" Sandy shouted. "Nice job, guys. Another one gets buried."

In his own cockpit, Nick noticed that the metal card containing Etor Xee had suddenly appeared in front of him, the green ranger putting it down to some sort of upgrade in the system. He wasn't interested in that, instead focusing on the card.

"Sorry, High Priest," he said. "I hope you don't hold it against us. We'll find a way to help you at some point."

"I have a suggestion," Lily piped up, breaking him out of his pensiveness. "Maybe we should keep explanations to a minimum and hope that they don't take it the wrong way that we just deposed their leader."

"I'm sure they'll understand," Sandy said. "I'm not worrying about it."

* * *

"You know what?" Max asked, looking over at Nick from the other side of the shuttle. "You actually didn't do too bad a job leading on this mission."

"You sound surprised," the green ranger muttered, before pulling out a thick cigar and biting down on one end of it. "I love it when a plan comes together."

"Where'd you get that?" Diana wondered, as Nick leaned over closer to Max, almost as if he was keen to get a light.

"Swiped it from Xee's personal stash," he replied, as the red ranger held up a finger, a thin red flame erupting from the tip. Holding it against the end of the cigarette, the smoke started to billow off the cigar, filling the shuttle. "Thought that it was the least I could do."

"You know Falco probably won't be pleased if you're lighting that up in here," Sandy pointed out from the pilots seat. "Think there's a strict no smoking policy on board his ship. This shuttle is part of his ship."

"Aww man!" Nick exclaimed, suddenly starting to cough and choke on the smoke. "I don't even like cigars after that."

"Why do you think Gordon smokes an electronic one?" Lily wondered, smirking at the sight of Nick starting to panic. "And it's not because he's the only source of getting barely edible food on board the Night Hawk."

"Before we're done with this whole mission," Diana commented. "I aim to find out exactly why, out of all the beings in the galaxy who can cook, why he hired Gordon."  
"Guess that's a story for another day," Max said, grinning. "To another successful mission."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Well, there was an Obliving. It's been a while, the first one really since Darzelle to be fought in a great deal of detail.**

**In Megazord terms anyway.**

**Yeah, apparently nobody plays traditional card games in the galaxy anymore.**

**Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated completely.**

**Actually, not that long until the sixth ranger by now. Just the next chapter, entitled Prank and the one after it. Then it's the two part chapter which will bring them some much needed help.**

**Actually, they're not doing that badly. But help is always appreciated. Anyway, the preview for Prank is below.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twelve, Prank, preview.**

**Diana: You like that?**

**Lily: That really wasn't funny!**

**Diana: I thought it was.**

**Falco: Reports of strange deaths on Arybus.**

**Max: We're not going back to Arybus, are we?**

**Diana: This is starting to look spookily familiar.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	12. Prank

Chapter Twelve. Prank.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_While travelling through the galaxy, the Night Hawk picked up a distress signal from the nearby planet of Forestrin. Although Nick had mixed memories about going back there, Falco put him in charge of the mission there to grant some aid to the inhabitants. Going down to the planet, the rangers met the High Priest, Etor Xee, who seemed grateful for their help. As they helped out with problems in dealing with the fires, Nick went back to the palace to overhear a conversation in which Xee revealed how he was plotting to kill them. Morphing, he and the others discovered he was being controlled by an Obliving, but they managed to capture him, before leaving the planet..._

_

* * *

_

Whistling slightly as he walked into the shower, Payne felt content. Probably more content than he should have done in the times of trouble they found themselves living in. In his heart of hearts, he knew that things could be better, but they could also be worse.

Dropping his towel to the floor, he walked into the small cubicle and switched the water on, recoiling slightly as the warm water splashed down across his fur. He wasn't that keen on water at the best of times, an attribute that he put down to a thousand years worth of dormant genes as part of his species and the Pokémon that they'd evolved from.

Yet, although he freely admitted to not liking it, it wasn't something that would paralyse him with fear. And, given that he'd spent the last three hours helping Chebek and Blister clear something out of one of the engines, he needed the shower. After that, he might take the time to clean the stains of oil from his fur, the stuff starting to chafe against his skin.

Continuing the act of letting the water shower over him, he sniffed the air, quickly realising that there was an unpleasant scent within the air. Turning the shower off, he tried to listen out for something, any sign of what had caused the smell...

The answers quickly came to him as the door to his bathroom slammed open and a huge yellow coloured Sludgeron came charging into the room. He knew the cause of the smell now, Payne thought, grimly. The things were huge humanoid Muk-like Poké Aliens, hugely unpopular around the galaxy. He barely had time to move to defend himself before the thing was on him in the small bathroom...

It was hugging him! The thick slimy arms were wrapped around him, crushing him in a huge embrace. With his face pressed against the body of the liquefied skin, he felt like retching, but that would meaning opening his mouth.  
Trying to take that nugget of information in, the Felaine heard the Sludgeron laugh quickly.

"Hey, Payne," it said, in a familiar female voice. "Gotcha!"

In that split second, he realised who it was. Pushing the Sludgeron back, he watched it quickly transform back into Diana, the yellow ranger wearing a huge smirk on her face.

"Gotcha!"

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"I'm surprised Payne didn't hurt you," Max commented. "He doesn't seem like the sort of individual to take it well."

"Nah, he took it well," Diana answered. "Other than the threat to throw me out of the airlock if I ever went into his private quarters again."

"Are you going to listen to it?"

"Possibly," the yellow ranger said. "Or I might just annoy people who won't flip out and toss me through the nearest wall."

"Typical," Lily muttered. "You can give it, but you can't take it."

"There's a bit of a difference between running in as a Sludgeron to give someone a hug after they've been out of the shower and throwing someone through a wall."

"Did he throw you through a wall?"

"I already said that he didn't, didn't I?"

"It's true, she did," Sandy commented. "Not in so many words, but..."

"So why did you feel the need to do it?" Nick wondered, his question directed at Diana. "What made you decide to do something like that."

"Don't play psycho-analyst, the look really doesn't suit you," she retorted. "I just need to get some boredom out of my system. We've been locked on this ship for a week, waiting for something to happen."

"So, you're playing practical jokes on people to amuse yourself?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she replied, before pointing at all of them. "And it's anyone goes, so beware."

"Thanks for the warning," Max remarked. "If I see you coming, I'll walk the other way."

* * *

"So, think about this one," Blister remarked, reaching out to hammer one of the engines with a wrench several times as he spoke. "You know how nothing really exists and we're all just characters in a holo show?"

"Well, that's your opinion, not mine," Chebek replied. "But go on."

"How is that not a valid opinion?" Blister asked, suddenly looking hurt. "I mean, think about it. We've got to be in a holo show, because it feels like we're not in control of our lives. We stand here and have random discussions, we're a part of the crew, but it feels like we're not actually involved as much as we should be."

"That's because we're ENGINEERS, you fool!" Chebek exclaimed. "We live in the engine room. Anyway, we aren't in control of our lives."

"Ah, so you agree with my view that we're in a holo show?"

"Nope, remember when we joined up and signed that contract handing our lives over to Falco?"

"Oh yeah..." Blister said, weakly. "I remember that now. Maybe he's working for the company that makes the show that we're a holo in. There are probably cameras somewhere."

"I bet you that there aren't," Chebek retorted, gesturing at one of the engines. "There won't be a camera hidden in there, there'll just be the usual thing. A small amount of steam, a lot of alleviated pressure. No camera."

"Prove it," Blister said, grumpily. "Open it up. See what's in there."

Rolling his eyes, the Charian began the short walk over towards the engine in question, a condescending look on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

"You're going to regret asking me to do this," he said. "Because you're going to look a fool when I open this up and nothing happens. Sure you want me to do this and save you the humiliation?"

"Just do it," Blister replied. "Because you'll look like the fool when it turns out to be true."

Still not looking impressed, Chebek reached out to the hatch lid of the engine, closing his hands around the handle. Giving the Typhig another sarcastic look, he yanked it back...

... And a huge amount of sweltering hot steam came out of the machine, hitting him full in the face. Had he not been a fire type Poké Alien, he probably would have been seriously injured, yet the temperature of the steam was still enough to cause him some pain.

Behind him, Blister let out a laugh, a laugh that changed over the space of a few seconds as his form changed into that of Diana's. Before Chebek could recover, the yellow ranger left the room, still laughing.

* * *

Still laughing slightly at the way she'd gotten Chebek, Diana walked into the sleeping quarters she shared with the two other female cadets, finding only Lily in there, the black ranger getting dressed.

"Just been in the shower?" Diana wondered, glancing around the room, trying not to get herself into an embarrassing situation. "Thought I smelled wet fur."

"Mrek you," Lily commented, looking around for her jacket. "I don't barge in on you when you're getting ready."

"Only because you don't know when that happens," Diana muttered. "How come you're getting changed into your uniform?"

"Falco wants us in the main briefing room in a few minutes. Just smartening up."

"Sure it's only in a few minutes?"

That got a reaction from the black ranger, Diana noticed, seeing Lily turn her head for a moment, sneer at her and then turn back. Glancing down at one of the tables in the room, a smirk flitted across her face as she spied an electric razor. Swooping down to pick it up, she hid it behind her back and began to walk towards her fellow cadet.

"Hey, Lil?"

Rather than answer, the black ranger let out a grunt, ignoring her. Taking that as a sign to carry on, Diana stepped up behind her, a grin on her face. Switching the item on, she saw Lily react at the sound of the buzz, too late to do anything about it as Diana swept the item across a patch of fur on her back, cutting it away to reveal dull white skin underneath.

Roaring in anger, Lily turned to swipe out at Diana, only for the yellow ranger to activate her transformation ability, switching into a Sablien. As a result of her new permeable form, Lily's attack passed straight through her, the black ranger losing her balance and falling to the ground.

"You like that?" Diana laughed, hovering in view above the prone black ranger, before switching back to her regular appearance. "Huh?"

"That really wasn't funny!" Lily snapped, picking herself up. "Seriously..."

"I thought it was," the yellow ranger said, continuing to laugh at the way her prank had worked. "The look on your face was a picture."

"Mmmm..." Lily said, making a snatch for the item. "Give me that razor!"

"Oh come on!" Diana exclaimed, groaning as she was tackled to the ground by the black ranger, Lily still desperately trying to get the razor from her. "It's not like it'll be noticed."

* * *

"Ah, you finally decided to join us," Falco remarked, as the yellow and black rangers came into the main briefing room. "Congratulations, you even managed to make it here after Cadet Garcia. That's impressive."

With both of them making no effort to speak to each other, the two rangers went to sit down, moving to opposite sides of the room. As she walked past him, Max noticed that Diana's hair had been shorter than normal when she had entered the room, yet as she passed him, it was back to its normal length.

"Here's something for the five of you to investigate," Falco said, folding his arms as he surveyed the room. "Something on some familiar ground... There are reports of strange deaths on Arybus."

"Oh damn," Max suddenly exclaimed. "We're not going back to Arybus, are we?"

"Yes, you are," the Aerobian said. "These are really strange deaths, and they are to be investigated immediately."

Reaching around behind his back, he brought a file out and dropped it onto the table in front of them all.

"Details are inside," he remarked. "Now, we're almost there, so I expect you to be on the shuttle down to the planet in the next ten minutes."

"He looks like he's in a bad mood," Sandy remarked, watching the Commandant stride out of the room, not stopping to offer them any more information. "You didn't do something to upset him, did you Diana?"

"Nah, that seemed stupid," the yellow ranger replied. "Just did Payne, Lily, Chebek, Gordon and..."

"What did you do to Gordon?" Nick wondered, taking a drink out of a bottle of water. Almost immediately on tasting it, he spat it out, realising how horrible it tasted.

"Oh, I spiked your water with salt as well when you weren't looking earlier," Diana admitted. "Sorry about that. Anyone, on Gordon, I rearranged something in his kitchen so when he opened up the cupboard, a pan would fly out and whack him in the face. Just desserts for his trying to poison us."

"Suppose that one's justified," Max mused. "I mean, who hasn't idly thought about getting hm a cook book or something?"

"Yeah, but hitting him with a saucepan?" Lily asked. "Then again, that seems about right for you, Diana. Moronic."

"What's up with her?" Nick wondered, looking first at Lily, then over to Diana. "Or don't we want to know?"

"Don't worry," the yellow ranger answered. "She just can't take a joke."

"Ah..." Sandy said, reaching over to pick up the file. "Let's see what we've got here."

For a few moments, the entire room was silent as Sandy glanced through the files, taking it all in. Upon finishing reading it, she let out a laugh before tossing it over to Diana.

"Something you might be interested in there," she said. "Have a read through and tell me what your initial reactions are."

Going along with it, Diana did so, taking slightly longer to read through it than Sandy had, before dropping it on the table in front of her.

"This is starting to look spookily familiar," the yellow ranger gulped, sliding the file around the table. "Smothering, stabbing, burning, bludgeoning and poisoning."

For that moment, the other four rangers all looked at her, waiting for the credit to drop.

"There's something familiar about all those," she said, musing on it. "Some sort of link, something that connects all of them together."

"Ah, Diana..."

"Not now, I'm getting there," she said, ignoring Sandy. "They're all the five methods of sadistic murder."

"Actually, there's something else in there," Lily pointed out. "Smothering... Almost like a Sludgeron on a Felaine, wouldn't you say? Stabbing, almost like running a razor across someone's back..."

"That's what she did to you?" Nick asked, before laughing out loud at the thought.

"Burning, almost like scalding someone with steam," Lily continued, ignoring him. "Bludgeoning, a bit like whacking someone with a saucepan. And poisoning..."

"Similar to putting something in someone's drink," Max said. "Any of this starting to sound familiar to you, Di?"

Musing on it, the yellow ranger's face finally lit up as she worked out what it meant, a smile flashing across her face.

"Sweet, I have my own fan club!"

* * *

"I can't believe that you're not more worried about this," Max said, looking across the shuttle to where Diana was sat. "I mean, if this was me, I'd be terrified."

"Yeah, but I'm not you," Diana replied. "Although..."

Letting it hang, she transformed into another version of Max, smirking across at the real red ranger.

"... Now I am. These murders all took place across the last week? For that last week, I've been on the Night Hawk, so it's not like I'm guilty of doing any of them."

"That's true," Sandy pointed out. "Unless she has the ability to be in two places at once."

"Wouldn't put it past her," Lily muttered. "She may very well have that ability and not mentioned it to us."  
"Well, I don't," Diana argued, transforming back into her own appearance, much to Max's relief. "Even if I transformed into something that could be in two places at the same time, as soon as I transformed back, the other me would vanish completely."

"Oh, so you've tried it then?"

"Any chance that you two might knock it on the head in the next few hours or so?" Nick wondered. "Because, this is really starting to get old."

"Know what I would like to knock on the head," Lily muttered.

"So... Arybus," Max said, speaking up to try and break some of the tension. "Interesting memories of there, huh?"

"You're telling me," Diana said, shuddering at the memories. "Just replace interesting with downright terrifying."

* * *

_"It's me!" Diana bellowed, her voice wracked with pain and exhaustion. "Oh no! I can't keep it away... It's trying to get hold of me again. You've got to... You've got to..."_

_"Come on, Diana!" Sandy exclaimed, moving towards the yellow ranger. "You've got a connection with it. It's part of you right now, there's got to be some way that you can use that. Just try and keep your focus..."_

_"I can't!" she screeched, small trickles of blood running down her cheeks. "It's too strong! I can feel it in my mind!"_

_"It's trying to take back control of you because it knows that you can beat it!" Sandy warned, kneeling down in front of the knelt yellow ranger. "Are you going to let it do that? Are you going to let some annoying shadow from the nether regions get to you like that? Just try anything that you think might work!"_

_"I don't know! I don't know!" Diana howled, her fingers scrabbling at the ground beneath her. "How? How? It's too powerful..."_

_"She's said that about four times in the last few minutes," Nick remarked. "And it hasn't done her yet. Have to wonder how strong it actually is."_

_"Diana, if you can feel it in your head, you have a connection to it," Sandy continued, placing her hands on the yellow ranger's shoulders. "Stay with me! You have to use that connection to find what it wants you to do the least and exploit it. You've got that bond."_

_"I have bonded with it!" Diana gasped, still on her knees. "And I know the only thing that it cannot possess... Here goes nothing..."_

_Letting out a scream, she began to transform again, her skin turning a jet black colour. Her body lost most of its corporeality, while her face mutated into one resembling that of an Obliving. Within the space of a few seconds, the human form of the yellow ranger was completely lost._

_"Holy crap, she did it," Lily said, picking herself up. "Now, what's going to happen?"_

_Still stood stock still, the Obliving looked across at them all, the eyes peering at the individual figures with suspicion and distrust._

_"Diana?" Nick asked, softly. "You in there?"_

_His question was enough to bring out the reaction, the Obliving rising up to slam its fist into the ground. As that black part of shadow broke away from its arm, the creature letting out a screech of pain, it began to change again. This time, it was slow and deliberate, the black skin seemingly taking ages to turn pink again._

_In all, it took a few minutes for Diana to completely return to normal. Gasping for breath, she slumped to all fours and continued to choke roughly for the next several moments, until Sandy spoke up._

_"You okay?"_

_

* * *

_

"I bet it won't be like that again," Nick remarked, trying to sound reassuring. "The chances of you getting possessed again are slim. Especially since there's been no word of any Obliving sightings, which helps."

"Still got a bad feeling about it though," Diana mused. "Something I can't shake."

"At least we're off the Night Hawk," Max said. "No more pranks for you. The rest of us can sleep easy now."

"Yeah, suppose I should be apologising to you for all that," the yellow ranger replied. "Well, at least to those that I pranked. It's just... I can't help it. Maybe I'm not cut out for long periods of time stuck in one place with no way out, it's just escapism."

"Here we go," Lily muttered. "Excuses."

"I can accept that I have a real problem with that," Diana conceded. "So, Nick, I'm sorry for sneaking salt into your drink, and Lily, I'm sorry for..."

"Yeah, don't bother."

"Now now, Lily," Sandy spoke up. "She's apologising to you. I think the least you can do is be big enough to accept it."

"Yeah, you would think that."

* * *

"Aha, thank you for coming."

The speaker was a Plusorian, a Plusle-like Poké Alien wearing a black law enforcement uniform, as he came across to them, looking relieved by their arrival. Upon landing on Arybus, they had immediately made their way to the closest place where they could meet such an official to gain his insight on the case.

"We came here as soon as we heard," Max replied, holding out a hand to shake the paw of the Plusorian. "Nice to meet you. I'm Cadet Redwood, that's Cadet Yushaa, Cadet Miele, Cadet Garcia and Cadet Camerons."

Amidst the greetings, the Plusorian's eyes fell upon Diana, studying her for a moment, before his expression changed back to a neutral one.

"I'm Officer Plusorb Davies," he replied. "Take it you're here about the murders?"

"Look at that," Nick whispered to Diana. "Another Plusorian named after the one in that show."

"Yeah, there was something about them that caught our interest," Sandy said. "Quite unique."

"Some quarters think that's a serial killer. Myself, I think that it's five different murderers. Serial killers usually have a specific MO, something that links their kills. These have nothing in common, other than being unusual."

"That seems like a link," Lily remarked. "Anything common in the victims?"

"Nothing at all. First victim who was smothered was a Felaine child. The second, the one who was stabbed, was a Kobrarian male in the prime of life, over a hundred years old. The third, the one who was burnt was a Gela female. The one who was beaten to death was a middle aged Zangovian. The final one, the one who was poisoned was a human female."

"Yeah, we know that from the report," Diana said. "There's not even any consistency in the gender. The Felaine was a male, the Kobrarian was male. The Gela and the human were female, but the Zangovian was also male. If there is some sort of pattern there, we can't make that connection unless there are more victims."

"Well, you might want to make a pattern," Plusorb remarked, angrily. "These are the people that we've sworn to keep safe that we're talking about."

"I'm not saying that I want there to be more victims," Diana answered. "Just trying to form a picture. Assuming that the killer does pick their victims on gender, that would be male, male, female, male, female. So on assumption, the pattern could well be repeated, meaning the next one would be male."

"As enlightening as this is," Lily said. "I think we're barking down the wrong street. These are clearly at random. You can't make a pattern out of madness."

"I swear if these two carry on much longer, I'm going to throw them into the nearest pit and let them fight it out," Max muttered, seeing Diana round on Lily in anger, ready to criticise the black ranger.

"Well, say it is random? How does that help us? I'm actually trying to do that, rather than make sarcastic pointless comments!"

"Yeah, because you're never sarcastic!"

"Mine's helpful. You're just being deliberately unhelpful!"

* * *

"That was humiliating!" Sandy exclaimed, as the five cadets walked out of the building. "Can't believe we were asked to leave there. Just when we were getting somewhere as well."

"I can, the way that Diana was behaving," Lily remarked, loftily. "She was being completely unreasonable."

"Oh! Get off the moral high ground!" the yellow ranger shouted. "You've got no business being on there!"

"Come up here and say that!"

"For mreks sake, knock it off!" Max exploded, his hair erupting into flames and rising up into a pyre on his head. "Either work it out, or one of you can go back to the shuttle! It's not helping, you're making the rest of us look bad!"

"Fine, screw you all," Lily retorted, bringing herself to a full stop. "I'll see you later. Wouldn't want her 'fantastic' ideas to be ruined because of my presence."

"Well, this is slowly descending into farce," Nick commented. "Falco's going to blow a fuse when he hears about this."

"I'm not worried about it," Sandy remarked. "I'm not the one he's going to be yelling at. Nor are you when it comes down to it."

"Oh, that's true," the green ranger said, perking up. "So what now? Check out one of the crime scenes, see what we can get?"

* * *

Storming away from the group, Lily barged her way past a Psorian, not really bothered about the reaction from the Poké Alien. If he wanted to pick a fight with her, she'd gladly have welcomed the chance to start beating down on someone.

Yet, the general feeling around her as she continued the walk back to the shuttle was that nobody was willing to get in her way. Glancing around, she saw that most of the inhabitants of Arybus were happy to move away, sensing that she was in a foul mood.

That was when she sensed it. Something familiar in the air, almost as if it was trying to attract her attention. Scanning the area, the black ranger sniffed the air, trying to pin it down.

That was when she realised she was next to the entrance to an alley, the strange scent coming from that direction. Taking a step inside, she saw it up ahead, a flash of black amidst the shadows. Another step towards it, her curiosity was well and truly caught, despite the seething cauldron of anger below the surface.

Another step towards the shadows...

... And something slammed into her face, the surprise blow sending her onto her back. Before she could recover, another one crashed into the side of her face, knocking her out cold...

* * *

"What do you reckon?" Max asked, looking around the small room. "Is there really enough to stab someone to death in here?"

"Maybe..." Sandy said, on her knees in one corner to examine some purple blood stains. "Possibly not any normal humanoid. Maybe on a Kobrarian, because they're not a big species. Not normally, anyway."

"Good thing Lily's not here," Nick quipped. "She'd probably be claiming her mother was about eight feet tall."

Even as he finished speaking, he suddenly looked a bit guilty at what had happened.

"This is just stupid," Sandy remarked, standing up. "I mean, so you two had an argument, she should be here helping us out. Maybe her sense of smell would have picked something up, maybe..."

"Hey, it wasn't an argument," Diana pointed out. "It was me playing a prank on her, she took it the wrong way, and it's sort of escalated from there."

"Don't suppose that it's ever struck you that some sort of apology is in order," Max mused, running his hands across the window.

"It could be," the yellow ranger said. "But, I don't think I'm going to get one from her."

"Either way, I think you should apologise for it again," the red ranger said. "Just see if you can get her to stop wanting to kill you."

"Is that an order, 'boss'" Diana asked, making sarcastic air quotes above the final word. "Because..."

"It can be a request, or it can be an order," Max replied. "Your choice."

Rolling her eyes, Diana brought her radio up out of her pocket, moving to speak into it.

"Hello, Lily?" she asked. "You there? It's Diana? Now listen, I know that you're annoyed, but just hear me out."

There wasn't any response, but the yellow ranger decided not to let that interfere with things.

"I freely admit that I was out of order, there's nothing I can do to change that. I just want to say that I'm really sorry and I hope that you'll accept that. We're a team and, dare I say it, quite close to being friends. So, I wanted to say that I hope you can forgive me for being a moron."

Finally, the radio crackled into life, the yellow ranger's heart rising...

"Sorry, Lily can't come to the radio at the moment," the deep voice laughed. "If you wish to leave a message, then you might have to wait quite a while, because... Well, she's not going anywhere any time soon."  
"Where is she?" Diana demanded, the colour draining from her normally pink skin. "Where are you?"

"Come outside and I'll show you," the voice laughed. "Alone, the front exit, five minutes."

With that, the line went dead, leaving the entire room silent.

"Hate to say it," Nick commented. "But this is partly your fault."

"I know," Diana answered, no trace of an argument in her voice. "But, we need to do something and fast. I'll go outside to see if I can find what this thing meant, the rest of you leave via a different exit to see if you can spot any trace of her. That seem like a viable plan?"

"I don't like it," Max immediately said. "This is a walk into the unknown. The same could happen to you as it did to Lily."

"Well, I guess that's a chance I have to take," the yellow ranger replied, heading for the exit. "Right?"

* * *

Walking out of the apartment, Diana took a quick look around, wondering where the thing was that had spoken to her over the radio. As she noticed the wide alley across from her, the radio in her pocket let out a series of beeps. Scrambling it out, she started to speak into it.

"Where are you?" she demanded into the device. "I'm here!"

"I know you are," the same strange voice remarked. "Look at the alley entrance. Can you see me yet?"

Immediately raising her eyes up, the yellow ranger saw the figure stood at the entrance. Upon realising that they had been seen by her, the figure turned and began to move into the darkness of the alley, almost taunting her to follow them.

Breaking into a run to get over there, Diana charged into the alley and began to look around for the possible threat, well aware that it could be somewhere close to her. Seeing nothing immediately there, she took several steps forward, still wary about any chance of an ambush.

Her worries quickly became unfounded as the figure stepped out in front of her, several feet ahead in the alley. As she took in the appearance of the figure, her heart sank. Although there were some differences, mainly in the light black colours of her skin, her hair and her eyes, the creature in front of her was an almost identical duplicate of her.

"Hello, Diana," the figure remarked. Like her appearance, the voice was an almost identical match, apart from some gravel-like undertones. "May I just say that it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

For once in her life, the yellow ranger was left speechless. There was nothing that she could say, nothing that would match the shock she felt inside.

"Seem to have surprised you," the being continued, before her face lit up into a smile. "Good. If I was not what you were expecting, then..."

"What the mrek are you?" Diana screeched, finally finding her voice. "Why do you look like me?"

"Me?" the other version of her asked, softly. "I am Omega Yellow."

"You have got to be joking," Diana said, still not taking it in. "You didn't answer my question. I didn't ask who you were, I don't care who you are. I asked what you are."

"I'm a part of you!"

For another few moments, she couldn't quite take it in, Omega Yellow apparently enjoying the way she had shocked her into silence.

"But how?" Diana finally exclaimed, managing to brush away her shocked disbelief. "How are you a part of me? There's just the whole version of me, not lots of broken pieces."

"We've been one before," Omega Yellow replied, smugly. "Remember the last time you came to Arybus? Remember what happened to you?"

"The Obliving?" Diana asked, the shock audible in her voice. "The one that took control of me. But, I killed it."

"Did you?" Omega Yellow replied, wagging a finger at the other yellow ranger. "Are you sure about that? I was part of you, I retained a certain connection to you when you managed to find a way to reject me. When you thought up those pranks, I thought I'd adapt them to deadly purpose to get your attention. Maybe I even reversed the mental connection once or twice, pushed you a little further than was necessary when you went through with the pranks... The thing with the Charian especially."

"That explains why I had the nagging feeling that it was a little over the top!" Diana exclaimed. "Damn you!"

"Damn me, damn yourself," Omega Yellow retorted. "I'm only the opposite side of your coin."

"That's not true," the yellow ranger said, angrily. "You're nothing like me."

"Well, I doubt that," Omega Yellow smiled, showing cracked black teeth beneath the dead lips. "We look alike. We sound alike, we have the same thoughts."

"Where is she?" Diana asked, remembering the main reason why she had chased down the abomination in front of her. "What did you do with Lily?"

"Why do you care?" Omega Yellow replied, shrugging. "I wouldn't. Just stuck her some place where she won't be found easily."

"Where!" Diana yelled. "Where have you put her?"

"Tell you what," Omega Yellow said, not losing her cool at all, no sign of her raising her voice in anger. "You want that knowledge, you're going to have to earn it."

"Earn it?"

Rather than answer her, Omega Yellow brought a fist up, her hand glowing with black energy.

"You want to know what else I can do being your opposite?" she asked, as the glow began to quickly envelope her entire body. As it faded away, Diana gasped in shock.

Omega Yellow had morphed into a ranger suit not unlike the one that she normally used for battle.

* * *

"Anyone heard anything from either Diana or Lily?" Max asked, jogging over to where Nick and Sandy had already met up. "I've tried hailing both of them over the radio, but no joy."

"Nah, we've got nothing," Nick replied. "No sign of either of them."

"Ditto," Sandy offered. "I found no trace of them anywhere. Think we might just have to wait it out."

* * *

The ranger suit worn by Omega Yellow wasn't an identical imitation, Diana realised, looking her opponent up and down. Although it was the same dark yellow colour, there were black crack-like lines across the surface of the material. The boots, belt and gloves, unlike her white ones, were black, while the black five across the chest of the costume was inverted. The rectangular visor was cracked, while the Ditto design on the helmet seemed to be deformed somehow. Also, her uniform had no CED or weapons with it.

"That's nasty," Diana remarked, bringing her own morpher up. "But, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. Cosmosis!"

Activating the device, she morphed into her own ranger suit, taking up a fighting stance.

"I'm sure that looks better on me," Omega Yellow remarked, pettily.

"Looked in the mirror lately?" Diana retorted. "Now, are you sure you want to..."

Cutting her off, Omega Yellow raise a hand up, firing a stream of electrical energy through the air towards Diana. Hit in the chest, the yellow ranger was immediately thrown to the ground by the force of the blast. Her breath came out in ragged chunks as a result, the numbness running through her muscles.

"That's hardly fair," she winced, getting to her feet. "Only the weak attack from distance..."

Smirking under her helmet, she dropped a hand down to her side, bringing the Cosmo Blaster up. Again, Omega Yellow went to fire at her with the electrical attack, only for Diana to shoot it down with her Cosmo Blaster. Roaring in anger, the shadow version of her started to run forward, still shooting. Making the decision to take the battle to her, Diana did the same, the electric blasts meeting the blaster fire in the middle of the alley.

Closing in on each other, the combatants realised at the same time that their ranged weapons were going to be useless. As Diana dropped her Cosmo Blaster into the holster, Omega Yellow sprang up and threw a jump kick at the yellow ranger, the blow hitting her in the stomach. Staggering back, Diana managed to evade another blow, ducking underneath the second kick. With Omega Yellow's guard momentarily down, she hit the being in the face before kicking her in the side.

Letting out a grunt of pain, Omega Yellow threw out her arms to grab Diana by the shoulders, before hurling her against one of the walls of the alley. Crashing against the bricks, the yellow ranger slumped down to the ground. Seeing that, Omega Yellow leaped up into the air, her fist glowing with the same yellow energy as before, ready to smash down into Diana.

At the last moment, the yellow ranger rolled out of the way, watching Omega Yellow slam her hand into the ground. Hearing her distorted double let out a shriek of pain, Diana made the decision to compound that pain, moving to kick her in the back of the head. With Omega Yellow thrown onto her chest by the blow, the yellow ranger jumped to her feet.

"Come on!" she shouted, trying to out-psych her opponent. "Is this the best you've got?"

Roaring in anger, Omega Yellow also jumped up, making a move towards the yellow ranger. In doing so, she failed to notice that Diana's fist had began to glow with a pure white light.

"Mega Punch!"

Something that she did notice as the attack in question struck out, the power of the blow sending her crashing back through the alley, eventually bringing her to an undignified halt on her back.

"You have lost!" Diana shouted. "Last chance! Where's Lily?"

"Like I'm going to tell you! You're the superior one, you work it out!"

"If that's the way you want to play it!" Diana said, darkly. "Then so be it! Nightfire Cannon!"

As she held out her arms, the weapon appeared within them, the yellow ranger immediately pointing it at her grounded foe.

"Last chance to tell me," she warned. "Or I will send you back to hell!"

"Okay okay," Omega Yellow panted, raising both hands. "I surrender. She's in one of the buildings around here. Building 492. She's not hurt."

Hearing that, Diana nodded, before moving to reach for the trigger on the weapon, the Nightfire Cannon charging up at her touch.

"You're not really going to spare me, are you?" Omega Yellow asked, suddenly looking crestfallen. "Even though I'm a part of you?"

"Nightfire Cannon!" Diana shouted, ignoring her. "Fire!"

In response to her order, the bright red beam of energy erupted out of the weapon, screeching through the air. She saw it hit Omega Yellow square in the chest, before hearing the frenzied howl as she was vaporised by the blast. Even though she had had a physical body, the bruises under Diana's ranger suit being testament to that, the form of her enemy seemed to evaporate into the shadows with one final squeal.

"You're not a part of me!" she exclaimed, pointedly looking at the area where Omega Yellow had been. "So, don't even try to claim it!"

* * *

Kicking the door to Building 492 open, Diana felt a wave of relief pass over her as she saw Lily on the ground, a pair of cuffs securing her in place. At the sight of her rescuer, the black ranger's eyes visibly let out a roll, clearly not impressed by the way Diana had come to her aid.

"Well, if you're going to be like that," the yellow ranger said, folding her arms. "Look, Lily, I'm sorry, okay? It was a dumb thing to do, I'll admit that. I just hope that you can forgive me."

Walking over to her, Diana knelt down next to her to start the process of removing the laser cuffs from her. As they came off, the black ranger sat up, rubbing her wrists.

"Thanks," she muttered, not looking the yellow ranger in the face. "I guess."

"Oh, don't sound overjoyed about it then," Diana said, angrily. "I just took a beating to get you out of here."

"Really?" Lily asked, perking up slightly at that comment. "Did it hurt?"

"Little bit."

"Excellent," the black ranger said, getting to her feet. "Thanks again for helping me."

"No problem," Diana answered. "What are team mates, scratch that, what are friends for?"

"Let's find the others and get off this damn rock," Lily said, striding past her to get to the door. "Sick of it already."

* * *

"You both behaved in an immature fashion, you both endangered the mission and you both have sullied the good name of Cosmo Force! By rights, I should kick you both out of here because of your actions!"

Both Lily and Diana just stood there, taking the full brunt of Falco's vicious attempts to chastise them, the Aerobian having demanded to see them as soon as they had arrived back on the shuttle.

"Yet, I'm not going to kick you out at this time," the Commandant growled. "You're going to carry on your duties as normal, you're going to do them to the best of your abilities and if something ever happens like this again, I will ensure that you never wear the Cosmo Force uniform again! We're in the middle of a galactic crisis, but you are expendable if you ever step out of line again. Now, about your punishments..."

"Sir!" Diana said, interrupting him. She promptly wilted under the ugly look he gave her, managing to summon up her courage again. "Permission to speak."

"It had better be relevant, Cadet Camerons!"

"All of this way my fault, Sir," she confessed. "I was the one who started it all, I'm to blame. If you're going to start handing out severe punishments, then mine should be worse than Cadet Yushaa's. Just thought that you should take that into consideration."

"Hmmm," the Aerobian mused. "I was aware of the extent your role in all of this, Cadet Camerons, however I'm impressed with the way you have owned up to your actions. Cadet Yushaa, you are not blameless in all of this, therefore I'm ordering you to clean up the mess hall. Get down there now!"

Saluting, all while looking a little ashamed, Lily turned to head for the exit.

"And as for you, Cadet Camerons," Falco said, giving her a stern look. "What am I to do with you?"

"That's entirely your choice, Sir."

"Did I tell you to speak?" he demanded. "I think a similar punishment to Cadet Yushaa's is in order. There are four airlocks on this ship. Clean them all. Then, when you've done that, I believe Payne needs someone to clean the sludge out of his sleep quarters."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Don't ever pull anything like this, Cadet," Falco warned. "You both are good at what you do, I really would hate to have to terminate your service."

"It won't happen again, Sir!"

"See that it doesn't!"

* * *

"So..."

Having walked out of the Commandant's office, Diana immediately saw that Lily was waiting for her, a mollified look on her face.

"So..." Diana repeated, shrugging her shoulders. "Where do we stand here? We good?"

"I suppose we're good," Lily replied. "Thanks for saving me on the planet, and for what you did in there. Suppose that we are good."

"Want to hug and make up?" Diana asked, holding out her arms. "Come on, you know you want to."

Rolling her eyes, the black ranger reached out, embracing the yellow ranger.

"Okay, we're even," Diana said, smiling. "Guess we better go and get done what we need to do."

"Oh yeah..."

* * *

"You okay?"

Looking up to the red ranger, Diana shrugged her shoulders, not really answering one way or another.

"I asked you if you were okay," Max said, coming to sit down next to her. "I mean... That's got to be rough on you, realising you shared a psychic connection with a cold hearted, soulless murdering pile of shadow."

"That's all we had," Diana answered, dryly. "A connection. All that stuff that she said to me about how she was a part of me..."

"You believed that?"

"No, it was complete mrek. She was no more part of me than you are. Everything that she got from me, she took by force, by invading my mind. I might have been a part of her, but to suggest the opposite is ridiculous."

"So, you're not worried about it then?"

"Not about that, no," the yellow ranger answered. "Just more about everyone that we've fought, those who we had to arrest and confine because of an Obliving in their system. It really does suck for them. What sort of trauma are they suffering because of that, and it's not like we're helping. When we attack them, it just adds to it."

"It's not like we know how to save them though, is it?" Max said. "If we had that knowledge, if we had the ability to save them, then we would utilise. Maybe we'll happen across something in the future that will help us with that. Maybe when we find the source of the thing and destroy it, it'll get rid of them."

"We're rushing ahead a bit, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but you've got to be optimistic, haven't you?" Max smiled. "Otherwise, what's the point."

"I guess," the yellow ranger replied, standing up. "Thanks, Max. I feel a bit better after the talk now."

"It's a long road ahead though," the red ranger said, patting her on the shoulder. "It's not like we're going to happen across the source of the Oblivings tomorrow. Although if we did, I'd be impressed and relieved."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Yeah... Creepy.**

**Say what you like, I apparently have a thing for yellow rangers fighting against their dark sides. See Danni in SDI fighting against herself and Nahir in Genesis Overload battle against both Infiltra and Cobra Yellow for previous examples.**

**But, Omega Yellow... Should have known that the previous plot on Arybus wasn't over.**

**Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated.**

**What's life without conflict. I think it's only fair that both Diana and Lily admit they were both a little out of order at points in this chapter.**

**Anyway, next one is entitled Recall. Preview below.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Thirteen, Recall, preview.**

**Sandy: Come in Night Hawk.**

**Golde: Where are you, Cadet Garcia? Where are the others?**

**Sandy: I... I don't know. I just woke up covered in blood and I can't remember.**

**Falco: What is the last thing you remember?**

**Evelyn: We're going to take you back to that point through hypnosis, okay?**

**Sandy: Do we really have to do this?**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	13. Recall

Chapter Thirteen. Recall.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After the events on Forestrin, the Night Hawk powered through deep space for a while, all while Diana was slowly getting more and more bored. To alleviate that boredom, she started to play some pranks. First on Payne, then on Chebek, then on Lily, then on Gordon and finally on Nick. Because of what had happened, Lily started to treat the yellow ranger with hostility. Eventually, Falco informed them of some murders on Arybus, murders that copied her pranks. Going down there, Diana felt the memories of her last visit there, while Lily refused to let the grudge slide. It culminated with the black ranger going back to the shuttle, only to get captured. As Diana caught up with the attacker, she realised that the Obliving who had taken control of her had mutated into a being known as Omega Yellow. Defeating her evil counterpart, Diana managed to rescue Lily, before returning to the Night Hawk to face the consequences..._

_

* * *

_

Beneath her head, the wooden floor was starting to cause her some discomfort. Actually, it wasn't the only thing...

Suddenly realising that, Sandy jerked up, only to wince in pain at her own sudden movements. Where she was, she didn't know, the only source of light being a dingy bulb above her. Blinking several times, she dropped back down to the floor, allowing herself the time to lay there for a moment. Licking her dry lips, she felt something tangy across her chin, something she also realised was sticky as she raised a handy to rub at it.

Bringing her fingers away from the mark, she saw the dull red stain on her fingers, the realisation that it was blood hitting her straight away. Staggering up to her feet, she took in the surroundings of the room, seeing a mirror on one of the walls ahead of her. As she gazed into it, the blue ranger realised that the source of the blood on her face had probably come from the huge gash across her left cheek. Looking down across her clothes, she saw that more blood had soaked into her tank top and the knees of her jeans, the tough material torn open amidst the stains of blood.

Continuing the examination of her condition, she saw that her knuckles had also been slashed open by something, the dried blood there a testament to that, although it didn't hurt as much as she thought it might. She saw that a huge gash had been opened up on her right arm, while as she brushed her stomach, another wince rushed through her system. Pulling up the front of her tank top, she saw another cut, albeit one not as deep as some of the others on her body. Reaching down to the torn knees of her jeans, she discovered another series of cuts, none of them severely life threatening.

"What the mrek happened to me?" she asked, before touching the temple of her forehead, discoveing another small cut. "And, why can't I remember?"

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

Stepping out of the room, moving onto the balcony outside, the first thing that struck her was the beaming sun, the harsh waves of light temporarily blinding her.

Her surroundings, in addition to the harsh weather, were enough to tell her she was in some sort of desert environment, the seas of sand as far as the eyes could see confirming that.

"How did I end up here?" she wondered, resting on the railing. "Am I alone?"

Glancing around, she saw some more rooms, in addition to the one that she had just left. Were her team mates in other rooms, or was she really alone?

Her eyes fell on a small building at the base of the structure she was on, the words 'reception' on a sign above it. Although she wasn't expecting anything much from either it or the beings working inside, the thought that it could maybe help her in some slight way was tempting. With that in mind, the blue ranger began to head for the stairs, determined to check it out. Any information was better than none.

* * *

"Hi," she said, more brightly than she had a right to given her experiences. "Can you help me? I..."

Cutting her off, the Scarena behind the desk brought up a hand to appeal for silence. Rolling her eyes at the brown skinned Cacturne-like Poké Alien, the blue ranger moved to lean against the wall, wondering whether or not to insist. Before coming in, she'd checked her pockets and had quickly discovered that she didn't have her Cosmo Force badge on her, something that would prove she was who she said she was.

"One moment please," the Scarena requested, surprisingly politely. "I'm in the middle of doing... Something."

"This is kinda important," Sandy pointed out. "I'm with a certain branch of galactic law enforcement, I don't have my badge on me, but it's the truth. I really need to get in touch and let my people know where I am."

"Sorry, there's no radio," the Scarena answered. "When I got on this morning, it had been smashed up. Nothing to be done until a replacement gets here."

"Damn," the blue ranger muttered, clenching her fists in anger. "Don't suppose you can help me in any other way, can you? Can you tell me when I signed in here?"

"Depends," the Scarena said, breezily. "Do you have any money? For a bribe?"

"No."

"Then I can't tell you," he said. "Not without proof of ID, or a bribe. That's the way we do things out here. You already told me you don't have any ID, so how do I know you're who you say you are."

For a moment, he paused, before reaching down under the counter to place an old looking laser pistol on the counter.

"Just in case you're thinking of trying to beat me up," he smirked. "I will use that if I feel the need to. In the meantime, I think you should work out how you're going to pay for your room, since you said you don't have any money."

Turning around in anger, Sandy made to storm out of the room, only for the something to stop her. Glancing down into one of the trash cans, she saw it, something that she might be able to use.

"What are you doing?" the Scarena demanded, watching her crouch down next to the bin, before pulling a mass of plastic and wires out of it. "There's nothing in there worth..."

"Mind if I see if I can do anything with this?" Sandy asked, holding up what she had found. "Because, I think I can."

"What is it?"

"Unless I'm very much mistaken, it's the remains of a Cosmo Force radio."

* * *

It had taken her a few hours, and it wasn't a perfect fix by any means of the word. But, holding the radio up to the sky, Sandy felt a small sense of achievement. Now that she had it, she could get out of here. All it took was that first act of making contact.

"Come in Night Hawk!" she said, speaking down into the reactivated device. "Can you read me? Hello!"

For a few moments, no sound came from the radio. Then, she heard something.

"This is Night Hawk," Golde's voice said, coming through the device. "Reading you loud and clear. Where are you, Cadet Garcia? Where are the others?"

"The others?" she asked, suddenly feeling a little shudder pass through her system. "They're not up there with you?"

"That's negative," Golde replied. "I repeat, where are you?"

"I... I don't know," she said, the worry growing by the second. "I just woke up covered in blood and I can't remember. I can't remember how I got here. I know I'm in the middle of a desert, but other than that..."

"Activate your emergency beacon, Cadet Garcia," Golde told her. "When you do that, we should be able to home in on your position, then we'll work at getting you back."

"Okay, I'll go do that then," she replied. "Let me know when you've tracked me down."

"Will do," the Aerobian answered. "Okay, over and out!"

As she reached up to the upper parts of her left arm, Sandy felt a strange mix of anticipation and bemusement that she had finally gotten around to using the emergency beacon. All members of Cosmo Force, be it Cadet or Commandant had a small device inserted into their upper arm which, in a real emergency emitted a distress signal to be picked up by the closest Cosmo Force ship in exactly this sort of situation. If someone was trapped on a foreign planet with no immediate way of getting off it, this was to be used as a last resort. Stroking her fingers across the smooth skin, she felt the hard lump, immediately pushing it down.

She knew from studying the process in the past that it had been specifically designed so that the chances of it being set off accidentally were almost impossible. It had to be pushed and held down with great force for several seconds in order to work. Taking a punch to that area, shoulder barging a door, or even laying on it while sleeping weren't enough to set it off. Feeling a slight buzz under her skin, she realised that it had activated.

That was when she decided to pass the time by taking a shower.

* * *

Roughly an hour later, just as she was finally getting out of the shower, no longer covered in blood, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she called, suddenly hoping that it wasn't the Scarena come to ask for his money for the room.

"It's Falco," the familiar voice of the Aerobian replied. "Let me in, Cadet Garcia!"

Pulling a towel around herself, the blue ranger made to go for the door, letting the Commandant in.

"Catch you at a bad time, Cadet?" he asked, folding his arms. "You want to offer us an explanation?"

"I already told Golde I can't remember anything about how I got here," she said. "I don't even know how long it is since..."

"You and the other cadets have been missing for a day and a half since you were due to come back," Falco answered. "We've been annoyed about it, but made the assumption that you were sleeping off shore leave somewhere..."

"Shore leave!" Sandy exclaimed, interrupting him. "That's what we were doing on this planet!"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Falco asked, looking across at her, his expression inscrutable. "Before waking up here?"

"I... I honestly don't know," Sandy replied. "Just let me think. See what I can get."

Pondering on it for a moment, she came up with a blank.

"I remember the Night Hawk landing on the planet Tagris..."

"This is Tagris," Falco answered. "That was nearly three days ago. And the other side of the planet."

"If nothing else, I look like I was in a fight," Sandy said, remembering how injured and bloodied she had been when waking up. "But that doesn't narrow it down that much. Could have been kicked out of a club and got a bit too lairy with one of the bouncers."

"I'm your Commandant, Cadet," Falco pointed out. "If you tell me that, I'm obligated to chastise you for it."

"I said it could have been that, not that it was," the blue ranger quickly said. "But, I'm suddenly worried about the others."

"If you can't remember anything on your own, then there's only one thing to do," Falco remarked. "Get dressed, Cadet. We're going back to the Night Hawk."

"Yes, Sir," she said, saluting him. "Although, there is one small matter of the bill for this room. I have no money. The guy at reception seems the type who..."

"Don't worry about that," the Aerobian said, a smirk flitting across his face. "Payne's currently having a word with him."

* * *

As the two of them made their way out of the room, they both heard a shot from the small office up ahead. As both made to find cover, they quickly realised in the next few seconds that it wasn't something they needed to do. A shattering crash rang out, as the window was broken by the body that was hurled through it, both of them realising it was the Scarena from earlier.

He lay on the ground, whimpering in pain, only for his agony to be compounded when his laser pistol came flying through the hole in the window and hit him in the face.

"That's having a word, is it?" Sandy asked, as Payne came into view, dusting his hands off. "Throwing someone through a window. Not exactly the Cosmo Force way."

"You're right," the Felaine commented, shrugging. "But, you're under the assumption that I work for Cosmo Force."

"Wait, what?"

"It's true," Falco said. "You've been living with the assumption that he works for Cosmo Force. He's actually just a close friend of mine who I have complete faith in when it comes down to it."

"Plus, if something ever needs doing that might contrast with the Cosmo Force oath," Payne smirked. "It's always handy to have a mercenary around who has no qualms about tossing someone through a window to make a point."

"I see," Sandy replied. "So, what's the plan then?"

* * *

A few hours later, she had found out what the plan was. Currently she was laid on one of the beds in the medical bay, the medical officer fussing around her to prepare the plan of action.

"We're going to take you back to that point through hypnosis, okay?" Evelyn asked, placing the suction cups on the blue rangers' temples. "Any problems with that?"

"Do we really have to do this?" Sandy wondered, adjusting herself on the bed to try and get more comfortable. "Because, I have a camera feed in my eye, I'm sure that'd be better for everything if..."

"We already checked that, Cadet Garcia," Falco remarked. "The majority of it is illegible. Something screwed up the feed at some point over the last few days, so that's not an option."

"Oh."

"Other than not wanting to do it, do you have any problems?" Evelyn asked, before seeing the blue ranger shake her head. "Okay then."

Moving over to one of the machines, she started to key in a code.

"Just to test that it's working okay," the Blisserian said, softly. "We're going to get you to recall a recent dream. Hopefully, it won't be anything too humiliating, but we will all get to see it. If we can establish a connection, we'll delve deep into your repressed memories."

"Gotcha," Sandy muttered, still not convinced as she closed her eyes. "Go for it."

* * *

_Opening her eyes, the first thing that she saw and felt was the car hurtling around a corner, the jolt of impact ensuring that she was awake._

_"Nice to have you back in the land of the living, love!" the man next to her laughed. "Sleeping during a car chase... You're missing the excitement."_

_"Sorry, forgot that you got off on this," Sandy said, straightening her hair. "My mistake."_

_"Cut the crap!" he barked, pushing down on the accelerator, to fire the car further towards the vehicle up ahead. "Best wake up when we get close to this scumbag up ahead."_

_"I'm awake," she retorted. "Don't worry about my sleeping habits."_

_"I'm not worried about your sleeping habits, love," he said, smirking. "Not unless I'm the one interrupting them. I'm questioning how devoted you are to getting this done. Sleeping on the job."_

_"When have I ever slept on the job before, Rob?" she wondered, before gesturing through the windshield. "Step on it, he's getting away!"_

_"Not from me," Rob laughed. "Nobody ever gets away from me! Also, that's Guv to you!"_

_Hurling his car into a spin, he crashed it into an alley, the bumper forcings its way through an assortment of trash on the ground which had just been left there._

_"You keep driving like this, the only person who'll be getting away from you will be the coroner."_

_"Stop! Being! So! Negative!" he shouted, slamming down the accelerator again. As the car shot forward, it screeched out of the other end of the alley, straight in front of the other car they were chasing. With nowhere to go, the driver had no choice but to bring his vehicle to a stop._

_"Told you I'd get the bastard," Rob said, taking out his gun. Pushing the car door open and getting out, he pointed the weapon at the driver. "Slowly get out of the car, or I'll blast you to kingdom come!"_

_"Little excessive, don't you think, Guv?" Sandy asked, also out of the car and leaning on the roof. "He's not going anywhere."_

_"Like to make sure," Rob replied, striding forward towards the side of the vehicle where the door was already open and the driver was getting out. "Come on, Sandra. Read him his rights, we can take him down the station and off to the pub before lunch."_

_"Nice to see that you have your priorities sorted, Guv," Sandy commented. "Oh, and that's Sandy. Not Sandra."_

_"Too informal."  
"Yeah, but it's my name."_

_"Okay, your Royal Highness. Will one kindly read this scumbag his rights so one can get off your lordly arse and bang this cretin up before he kills again."_

_"Tony Richard Waterman, you are under arrest for two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, five counts of holding stolen goods, fleeing from arresting officers DI Sandy Garcia and DCI Robert Hunt..."_

_"You missed out foul and abusive language to an arresting officer," Rob pointed out._

_"I never heard that," Sandy said, although she quickly regretted it as her superior slammed the car door into the suspects chest with his foot. As Tony collapsed to the ground, he let out a stream of curses._

_"Told you," Rob laughed. "Anyone asks, he fell. Repeatedly."_

_

* * *

_

"That's your dream, Cadet Garcia?" Falco wondered, unable to hide a smirk as she sat bolt upright. "Being in a late twentieth century police show?"

"It was a random dream I had, okay?" Sandy protested. "Saw some old holo shows on the web before I went to sleep that night. You can't control what you dream about."

"Good thing I'm sworn to secrecy never to reveal intimate details about patients in my care," Evelyn remarked. "And, I'm sure the Commandant operates under the same oath."

"Of course," Falco said. "So, what about it, Evelyn? Can we establish a connection?"

"We can indeed," the Blisserian medical officer answered. "If you'll kindly settle back down, we can continue on, Sandy."

"Lucky lucky me," the blue ranger remarked. "If things carry on in the same vein of form, I'm likely to end up naked and drunk in the next one. And then it could get embarrassing."

"Just get on with it, Cadet," Falco said, sternly.

Again, she lay back, closing her eyes...

* * *

_"Well, I'm psyched for this," Diana said, looking out of one of the windows. She could see the city ahead of them, the capital of the planet, Las Tagris. "Shore leave."_

_"I'm still amazed you got it," Nick commented. "After what happened recently."_

_"Ah, that," the yellow ranger remarked. "Hey, I wasn't the only one who got punished there. Lily had to clean the mess hall after that..."_

_"Yeah, and I did it," the black ranger replied. "So there. Did you clean Payne's carpet to the standard that he expects?"_

_"Of course," Diana said. "Almost looks brand new."_

_"Funny," Max mused. "There was a roll of carpet in one of the storage rooms earlier, but it's not there any more. You didn't, did you?"_

_"What?" Diana asked, innocently. "Like I'm going to be able to replace a carpet in a room in half an hour without anyone noticing."_

_"What's the plan then?" Sandy wondered. "Hit some of the bars and then go to the casino?"_

_"I'm liking that idea," Nick said. "I'm feeling lucky."_

_"You were feeling lucky the last time I played you at Jackpot Hoarder," Max remarked. "Look what happened there. Surprised you have any money left after that."_

_"Yeah, keep thinking that," Nick retorted._

_"I do know a good bar to start in this city," Lily said. "It's called Zangras."_

_"What is it?" Sandy quipped. "Good place to have a Mardi Zangras?"_

_

* * *

_

"So, there's something there," Evelyn commented, glancing up at Falco. "There's not a lot there, but it's a starting point. Maybe you could order Techno 9 or Doctor Katongo to try and hack into a video feed around that area, see if we can trace their steps as..."

"That's not a bad idea," the Aerobian mused. "I'll go do that. If anything, it'll keep me away from more awful puns like that."

"I'll keep looking through her memories, Sir," Evelyn said. "If anything, it should make interesting viewing."

"Thanks for that," Sandy muttered. "Glad I'm your source of entertainment now."

"Oh, believe me, Cadet Garcia," the Blisserian said. "I'm enjoying it. It's helping me recover after the over indulgence while on shore leave."

"Nice to see you had a blast as well."

* * *

_"Takari, huh?" Max asked, as the young Geranian waitress placed the bottle down onto the table. "This the plan? We just drink shots of that.. Last ranger standing."_

_"Last ranger standing?" Lily asked, making a move for the bottle. "Let's get this on. Besides, this one's on Max."_

_"What?" the red ranger exclaimed. "How come I'm paying for it?"_

_"Same reason you were taunting Nick for having no credits," Diana snickered. "Because we know you've got a load."_

_"Doesn't mean I have them on me."_

_"You came out with no credits?" Sandy asked, incredulous. "What were you planning to do, mooch off us for the entire night. If we all did that, it'd be a pretty sombre celebration."_

_"Nah, I mean I brought three hundred credits out," Max backtracked. "It's just a case of I'm wanting to keep my head until we hit one of the casinos. Then I'll win money and get baked."_

_"Tough, pay up," Lily said. For a moment, the red ranger looked like he wanted to argue, before finally smiling._

_"Okay, I guess you guys have been working pretty hard," he said, taking out a handful of credits. "Least I can do is get this, and remember how you've strung me up here the next time you want something from me."_

_"Hey, we're all buying a bottle of it before the end of the night," Nick said. "Least if you do it here, you won't have to pay casino prices."_

_"Oh yeah, never thought of that," Max remarked, suddenly looking mollified. "Good point."_

_"On that note, I'll get the next one," Nick said, quickly. It was the turn of the three female rangers to look disgruntled as he finished speaking._

_

* * *

_

"Hmmm..." the Blisserian remarked. "So, between you, the five of you drank five bottles of Takari?"

"Don't know if we reached five," Sandy admitted. "But, there was at least three involved."

"No wonder you can't remember anything," Evelyn said, dryly. "Anyway, we'll fast forward a bit. I have no particular desire to watch the five of you even attempt that. It goes completely against everything my medical background holds dear."

"So what did you do on shore leave then?"

"Not drink the equivalent of a bottle of Takari," she retorted, primly.

"We were just enjoying ourselves..."

"And look where it's got you," the medical officer replied. "Memory loss, badly beaten up..."

"I wouldn't say badly," Sandy said, glancing down at the visible bandages on her body. "You never enjoy yourself when you were younger?"

"I did actually," Evelyn answered. "But that was a long time ago."

"Ah, so your memory is going?"

"Careful, Cadet Garcia."

* * *

_"Viva Las Tagris! Viva Las Tagris! Bright lights..."_

_As the singing continued from a group of human tourists across the room, Max gave the Mystigar croupier a smile._

_"Hit me, babe," he said, his grin growing wider by the second._

_"Think she might do if you don't stop calling her babe," Lily commented, rolling her eyes. "And I might do if she doesn't."_

_"Calm, calm, calm," Sandy said, raising both hands up. "Just remember, we're enjoying ourselves."_

_"Okay, I'll rephrase it," the red ranger softly said. "Can I get a card please."_

_"You want me to hit you, Sir?"_

_"Why do I even bother," he groaned. "Should have just stuck with the original request."_

_"Hey, guys," Nick said, gesturing over to the corner of the casino where a group of Sandorkians had their own table. The Sandslash-like Poké Aliens all seemed to be enjoying the cards and the alcohol, possibly Desert Rats on their own version of shore leave. All of them were wearing sand coloured suits._

_"Another bottle of Takari anyone?" Diana wondered, gesturing for the waitress._

_

* * *

_

"Oh my..." Evelyn remarked. "Nice to see that you weren't worried about letting your hair down."

"Bite me, Evelyn," the blue ranger muttered. "If I want advice from you, I'll ask... And then only on medical grounds."

"This is on medical grounds," Evelyn said. "Drinking that much Takari can lead to memory loss, queasiness, nausea..."

"In other words, it's typical alcohol," Sandy retorted. "I'm going to say it again... We were enjoying ourselves."

"So, what next?"

* * *

_"I tell you, this is the pinnacle," Nick slurred, dropping his cards face down on the table. "Got to love that shore leave."_

_"Shore leave, eh?" one of the Sandorkians asked. After the passing of midnight, some of the smaller tables had closed, forcing them to move onto the same large table as the Cosmo Rangers. "What are you? Sailors?"_

_"Nah, Cosmo Force," Diana said. "Best of the best."_

_"Ah, it's our time for break as well," another Sandorkian commented. "Which is why we're here. Say what you like about Commander Ebbson, he might be a hard task master, but when it comes down to it, he's fair."_

_"He your commanding officer?" Max wondered, his eyes half shut. "Ah, those guys can be... Interesting, right?_

_"In a word, they can be," a third Sandorkian smiled. "What about you four? Who you got as a Commandant?"_

_"We've got an Aerobian," Lily answered. "If it came down to it, think he'd demolished your Commander Ebbson in combat."_

_"Unfortunately, that's not a fight we're ever going to see," the first Sandorkian said, sagely. "Funny you guys been part of Cosmo Force. The best of the best. We've often wondered how these apparently well trained cadets would manage the rigours of our fort."_

_"Fort?" Nick asked. "You guys have a fort?"_

_"Of course they do, moron," Diana scowled. "Best way to live in the desert. Either that or tents. But it's not practical for an army of Desert Rats to live in tents."_

_"The fort is mainly a landmark," the third Sandorkian remarked. "Some of us do live in the sand underneath it."_

_"You know, you guys are pretty decent," Max said, stifling a yawn, before taking another drink of Takari. "If you ever want us to help test the security of your fort, then just ask."_

_"Want to come tonight?" the second Sandorkian asked, a small smirk appearing on his face._

_

* * *

_

"I think we're getting closer to their disappearance now," Eveyln said. "These Sandorkians? You ever encountered them before?"

"Not that I can remember," the blue ranger replied. "Why do you want to know?"

"The injuries that you've sustained," Evelyn commented. "The cuts, the lacerations... I thought this earlier, but I didn't want to bring it up then without proof. It looks like you might have gotten into a fight with one of them."

"Excuse me?"

"They have huge claws, Cadet Garcia," the medical officer pointed out. "Their bodies are covered in spikes. If you got into a scuffle with one, those spikes could easily have caused your wounds."

"Hmmm..." Sandy mused, bringing a hand up to stroke her chin. "Actually, it's all coming back to me now. I wasn't there when that discussion there was taking place, I was actually paying the waitress close by and heard it. But, I remember now."

* * *

_"Look, I just think that before we do this, we should let Falco know what we're doing," Sandy protested, as the group came out of the casino. "Otherwise, it might seem like..."_

_"Oh relax, love," one of the Sandorkians remarked. "If the five of you as good as one of you seems to think you are, then it won't take you that long."_

_"I never actually agreed to this," Sandy grumbled. "And, don't call me love."_

_"Or what?" the Sandorkian demanded, glaring at her. "What are you going to do about it, love?"_

_"Come on, guys!" Max said, trying to get between them. "Don't start anything."_

_"Bite me, Max!" Sandy yelled. "You're not endearing, you know that?"_

_"Who, me or big mouth there?" the red ranger wondered, gesturing his head at the Sandorkian._

_"Both of you!" she exclaimed. "You're both as bad as each other."_

_"Amazing how some people can't take their liquor, huh?" Diana commented, sarcastically._

_"Stand down, Cadet Garcia," one of the Sandorkians said. "As a rule, we don't like to beat down mouthy humans."_

_"Ah, and there was me thinking that this army of no-marks had low standards," Sandy crowed. "Look at that, they have morals."_

_She then turned to Diana, a sarcastic smirk on her face._

_"Who's been more unreasonable while drunk? The four of you who want to get help a bunch of Desert Rats test their fort's security out, or me who thinks it's a bad idea."_

_"She's starting to annoy me," a third Sandorkian commented. "Do we really need all five of them."_

_"I don't think so," another one remarked. "Feel free to toss her if need be."_

_"Touch me and lose your teeth," the blue ranger warned. "That's a promise."_

_"Sandorkian's don't have teeth," the being replied, jabbing her cheek with a claw. "What you got to say to that."  
"Now come on, guys," Nick said, quickly. "This is all a bit..."_

_Interrupting him, Sandy brought back her fist and hit the Sandorkian in the face, knocking him off his feet. As he hit the ground, she went to kick him, only for him to roll out of the way. Springing up, he slashed out at her twice, the blow intended to hurt her. Had she not dodged, the attack passing through the front of her shirt, it could have killed her. _

_With the pain fresh in her mind, she went to try and knee him in the stomach, the Sandorkian turned to take the blow on the spikes. She felt the blood rush down her leg, the warm feeling driving her on to attack further. The blue ranger went to punch him, only for him to block the attack boxer style. She felt his claws slice through her knuckles..._

_"Okay, stop it!"_

_Next to them, the other four rangers had taken up fighting stances, Diana and Lily both trying to look as threatening as possible, something that was easier for Lily. Nick had transformed into his Geckile form, while Max's hair had burst into flames._

_"Knock it off!" Max growled. "Or we're not going to help you."_

_"Fine!" the lead Sandorkian retorted. "We don't need her anyway. Just the four of you will do."_

_"Actually, you can forget it," Diana said. "After that, it's not going to happen."_

_"You can back out of it," the second Sandorkian remarked. "Or, we can take the lot of you on. And do you really think any of you will fare better than your friend? We operate a very strict honour system. You made a promise to us, we expect you to behold that promise. Do that and we won't brutally kill you. You have our word."_

_"Oh brilliant," Sandy muttered. "What happened to talk being cheap?"_

_"We're going to take you back to our fort to oblige your promise now," the lead Sandorkian said. "We'll drop the bionic woman off somewhere on the way."_

_

* * *

_

"Look at that," Sandy said, triumphantly sitting up. "You were right. I remember it being a lot less painful than it looked there."

"Don't sound surprised, Cadet Garcia," Evelyn remarked. "And, are you joking? That looked incredibly painful."

"Where do we go from here then?" the blue ranger wondered. "I presume we tell Falco that they went to help out members of the Sandorkian military with their training."

"Not we, Cadet Garcia. You!"

* * *

"Hailing Fort Reza Seven Scarna," Golde called, through the communication system. As the Night Hawk swept down through the sky, the outline of the structure below them became more visible. "This is the Night Hawk. Come in."

"Roger that, Night Hawk, this is Commander Ebbson," a voice that sounded like it had been hewn from granite replied on the other end of the line. "What can we do for you? Unfortunately, you cannot land here, otherwise..."

"We're a Cosmo Force ship," Falco butted in. "I believe you may have some Cadets under my command in your Fort."

"That is correct, Commandant," Ebbson answered. "What is your point?"

"I would like them back," Falco said. "I don't care what they said to you, I'm demanding them back."

"Ah..." Ebbson said, suddenly sounding worried. "That's not quite possible at this exact moment, Commandant."

"And why not?" the Aerobian demanded. "Don't try anything funny."

"We're not unwilling to give you them back, Commandant," Ebbson answered. "It's just more a case that they're currently helping out... In the combat arena."  
"You've got them fighting your men?" Golde asked. "That's worrying on both sides."

"Nah, just sparring," Ebbson replied. "We've supplied them with protective equipment, don't worry."

"Really?" Falco asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah," Ebbson said, the sarcasm now audible in his voice. "Because we just keep a supply of that stuff hanging around. When they've done, we'll let them go."

"How long do you think they'll be?" Golde wondered. "Because, we are on quite a tight schedule her."

"Could be a week," Ebbson replied. "Could be more."

"Commander Ebbson, I'm not asking," Falco said. "I'm cordially asking that you release them right now, or there will be repercussions."

"You bring your ship within three hundred yards of this fort and we will assume you have the intent of attack," Ebbson said. "You might be able to deal us some damage, but we will blow you out of the sky."

"Why three hundred yards?" Golde wondered. "That how far your crappy home made artillery cannons reach?"

"Come over and find out," Ebbson sneered. "You want a blood bath, we'll have one. We're not known as the Desert Rats for nothing."

"Keep at it and you might well be," Falco muttered, before raising his voice. "Commander, surely there's some way we can settle this amicably."

"There is one, Sir," Techno 9 offered. "There is a way that Sandorkian will use to settle dispute. I believe it is known as Slashtack."

"Slashtack?" Falco repeated, only for a cough to break out from the comms link.

"Did you just say Slashtack?" Ebbson asked, suddenly interested. "If that's what you want to do, lay your case, Commandant."

* * *

"Slashtack?" Sandy said, shaking her head as the shuttle came into dock. "I don't believe that's actually what it means."

"They are an honourable race, Miss Garcia," Techno 9 pointed out. "Commandant Griote is a superior warrior to that Commander Ebbson. Although most races prefer not to place value in it, Sandorkians do."

"What actually is Slashtack?" Evelyn wondered. "Is it some awful way of settling disputes?"

"In a situation like this, between two small sets of forces," Techno 9 answered. "Sandorkian believes that the more able warrior should make the decision. So, the highest ranking officials of the two camps will go head to head with their records in combat. It's a way of settling things without the need for violence. Although Commander Ebbson is no doubt a competent warrior, his credentials pale in comparison to Mr. Griote's. An Aerobian Combat Master, also holding the rank of Commandant in Cosmo Force. Very few hold that double honour."

"I still can't believe that's what all of this was about," Falco said, the doors opening up in the shuttle. It didn't take long for the four cadets, tanned and tired to start coming out, ready to face the possible music. "Not that I have a problem with it, but in future..."

"Sorry, Sir," Max said, sheepishly. "It sort of came up. We didn't have the chance to get in touch with you."

"It's good to have the five of you back together," Evelyn remarked, looking across at them. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back,"

* * *

Outside his workshop, Doctor Katongo heard the sounds of celebration, the immediate thought springing to his mind that a mission must have gone off with success.

He didn't care. Normally, he might have gone out to mingle with the crowd, get a taste of those moments of joy at a mission completed.

Not tonight. Tonight, his entire focus was on the small black and silver coloured glove in front of him, as he worked to prepare it.

The mission today might have gone well. The mission tomorrow might not end so well, meaning that the five needed reinforcements. Using his natural psychic abilities, he had seen something in the immediate future telling him that was something they would need. Which was why he was where he was now, working away while the rest of the crew celebrated.

Lifting the glove up, he began to peer at it, wondering where best to go next with it. The CED was in place, all it needed was to try and connect it up to the morphing grid...

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Well, it shouldn't be much of a surprise, since I said a few chapters ago that the sixth ranger was coming. It will be someone on the Night Hawk. But who...?**

**Anyway, bit of a different chapter.**

**Before anyone thinks it, none of the other rangers were abandoning Sandy. They just made a brave decision to do what they thought was best.**

**Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated.**

**Shore leave turns nasty. Not a title I would have gone with, but a good four word summary of the chapter.**

**Next one is entitled Mirror: Part One. The preview is below.**

**Anyone want to guess at what TV show inspired Sandy's dream?**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Fourteen. Mirror: Part One.**

**Golde: We're picking up reports of a disturbance on the Airspace Moon.**

**Falco: What?**

**Payne: Doesn't the Airspace Moon...?**

**Falco: It orbits the planet Aerobis. Looks like we're going home. My home, anyway.**

**Nick: Looks like some Aerobian got too cocky for his own good.**

**Max: We need to take this guy down, hard and fast!**

**Lily: I really can't imagine a modest Aerobian. Both the ones I've met are really arrogant.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	14. Mirror: Part One

Chapter Fourteen. Mirror: Part One.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After Diana and Lily completed their punishments, the crew of the Night Hawk set out for shore leave. Nearly three days later, Sandy awoke in a motel, wounded, covered in blood and unable to remember how she had gotten there. Managing to recover a broken Cosmo Force radio, she contacted the Night Hawk, getting Falco and Payne to come and collect her. Upon returning, she underwent hypnosis to find out what had happened, eventually realising that the other cadets had made a drunken promise to an honourable army of Sandorkians who expected them to fulfill their obligation. Meanwhile, Doctor Katongo had almost finished a sixth morpher..._

_

* * *

_

"Greetings, fellow Airstar."

Looking up through bleary eyes, the old Aerobian saw a younger one in front of him, a huge grin on his face. As his vision cleared, he saw that the Aerobian, in the Pidgeot stages of life, had jet black feathers. His crest was a dull gold colour, while he wore a black Aerobian Fighting Squadron jacket.

"Saw that you were living rough, squire," the younger Aerobian said, tossing some credits down into the cup the older one had in front of him. "Damn shame about something like that. Hero like you living in the banals of a building site."

"Son, you got something better to be doing?" the older Aerobian asked, adjusting his own coat around him. "I'm not in the mood for flattery."

"I'm not flattering you," the younger Aerobian replied. "Just stating a fact, and hoping to do a favour for one ex-serviceman to another."

"What's your name and rank, son?"

"Eagor Hawley, Sir," the younger Aerobian answered. "Just in the neighbourhood, saw you destitute here and thought I'd spread some of the wealth around. Pity when the AFS was disbanded you lost your pension, huh?"

"No desire to talk to you, Hawley," the elder remarked. "See, I've got a good memory, and I've heard of you..."

"Ah, my fame precedes me."

"... Which is why I'm annoyed to see you're wearing that jacket!" the older Aerobian snarled. "You've got no right to do that!"

"Since the AFS is no longer around, there's no law against wearing the jacket," Eagor answered, smartly. "I did serve."

"Disgrace! Get out of here!"

"Fine, if that's the way you want it," the younger Aerobian laughed, turning to leave. "Keep the change."

Despite his better judgement, despite the knowledge about where it had probably come from, the older Aerobian did so.

Twenty minutes later, when a series of huge explosions wracked the entire neighbourhood, he was at ground zero...

* * *

**It seems like the end of time.**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_The Stronghold appears. The Council can be seen in the background._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**We're losing it all.**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Sabli Romerenko appears, before being taken over by Oblivion..._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy. Falco and the crew appear._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Cosmo Fighters are launched. They transform into the Cosmo Megazord._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"Think enough time has passed to ask you about it," Sandy suddenly said, speaking up in the mess hall. "On Tagris. What happened in that fort?"

"Why do you suddenly want to know what happened there?" Nick asked, suspiciously. "Nothing too problematic. As long as we fulfilled our promise, they would have let us go free eventually. I imagine we'll never be able to go back there after the way we were forced to leave."

"It wasn't that bad an experience actually," Max mused. "Not if you like sun. Help maintain repairs on the fort, fight off the occasional Steelix attack..."

"Yeah, he has a point," Lily remarked. "Those things just come up out of the ground without warning."

"Seems like no planet is safe these days, huh?" the blue ranger quipped, only to stop smirking as she saw the four looks given at her. "What?"

"I'm agreeing with Max," Diana said. "It really wasn't that terrible. I don't know why you didn't come along."

"Because I was annoyed you'd agreed to do it while I wasn't there. If I wanted someone to speak for me, I'd get a Chatbot."

"They still make those things?" Nick wondered. "Thought they stopped making them in the 2120's after the model turned out to be inept at lying."

"Nah, they just made a better version of it," Sandy said. "That's all that was needed."

* * *

"Ah, good morning, Sir," Golde said, turning to see Falco coming into the cockpit. "Everything fine?"

"It is indeed, Golde," the older Aerobian replied. "What is the status of our morning correspondence?"

"Errr... some files came through for your consideration," Golde answered. "Doctor Katongo wants to talk to you about something, and there's something else that I think you should know."

"He thinks it's vital you know about this, Sir," Payne piped up. "Personally, I agree with him that you should know about it, but I don't think it's something that needs immediate action. Something about some moon..."

"What is it?"

"We're picking up reports of a disturbance on the Airspace Moon," Golde reported. "Which is worrying."

"What?" Falco demanded. "The Airspace Moon? No!"

"Doesn't the Airspace Moon...?" Payne started to ask the question, only to be cut off by the interruption of Falco.

"It orbits the planet Aerobis," the Commandant answered. "Looks like we're going home. My home, anyway."

"What's he saying about you, huh Goldie?" Payne asked, reaching over to mockingly rub Golde's head. "Something you're not telling us?"

"Okay, I wasn't born on Aerobis," Golde retorted. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing at all," Falco replied. "We're not like some cultures who look down on our citizens because they weren't born on the home world. What sort of disturbance?"

"Ah, bombing attack," Golde answered. "They're a little unsure what actually happened, it appeared to be some sort of sophisticated little explosive that they haven't been able to trace yet."

"Right!" Falco exclaimed, making his mind up. "It's settled. We're going to Aerobis. Set a course for the Airspace Moon."

"What about that other material from the council?" Payne wondered. "It's marked urgent."

"It can probably wait," the Aerobian replied. "How long until we can make it into the orbit of Aerobis?"

"If we hit maximum speed, Mr. Griote," Techno 9 said. "If we draw as much speed, as much endurance, as much acceleration out of the Night Hawk as we can, it'll be the best part of four hours."

"Excellent," Falco replied. "Set a course then. I shall go and inform the rangers of the task."

* * *

"Hey, check this out!" Blister exclaimed, grabbing up a handful of metal nuts. "I've suddenly and miraculously discovered that I can juggle."

Upon starting to toss five of the items up into the air, the first one bounced off his forehead, the second one hit him in the eye, the third and fourth fell to the ground and he caught the fifth one in his left hand.

"I said I could get them in the air," he pointed out, seeing Chebek's smirk. "Not that I could keep them there."

"Yeah, yeah," the Charian replied, rolling his eyes. "You know that I can make a massive bruise appear on you without touching you with my hands."

"Really? Just like magic?"

"Well, if you want to put it that way..."

"How would you go about doing this 'trick' then? Since you make it sound so intriguing."

"Okay, I'll show you. You see this wrench here?"

"Yes, what about it?"

* * *

Walking through the engine room to reach the shuttle, the five rangers heard a pained yell ring out from the general direction of where Chebek and Blister hung out.

"Don't look at me," Diana said, seeing four pairs of eyes move over to glare at her. "This isn't anything to do with me, I'm not pranking them."

"Nah, I believe her here," Lily remarked. "If only because we can see her and what she's doing."

"It might have been something set up earlier," Nick said, quickly. "That's always a chance."

"You know what, it is," Diana replied. "But it's not. I'm focused heavily on this mission ahead of us."

"I think we all are," Sandy mused. "Should be an interesting case. Seeing the Commandants home world, where he grew up..."

"And there's the added incentives of some bombings," Lily said. "Whatever anyone thinks

"It just looks like some Aerobian got too cocky for his own good," Nick remarked, shaking his head. "Guess this'll be cathartic, beating up one of them whenever the guy tries to resist arrest."

"You're just going to imagine that it's Falco when you hit him, aren't you?" Diana said, the yellow ranger rolling her eyes.

"Of course I'm going to think that it's Falco," Nick replied. "You can't see an Aerobian and think of the old guy."

"What makes you think whoever it is will resist arrest?" Sandy wondered. "They might not."

"They usually do," Nick replied. "How many of the criminals we've ever gone up against have ever surrendered peacefully."

"Anyway, I guess the point of this is that we need to take this guy down," Max said, changing the subject. "Hard and fast, like we always do. No need to change."

"That seems like an excellent idea."

From behind them, Falco stepped into view, a blank expression on his face as he looked across each of them, pausing for a few moments as he focused on Nick.

"And, added with Cadet Miele's enthusiasm for this, I'm sure it's going to work."

"Anything at all you can help us with, Sir?" Sandy wondered. "Anything about Aerobis or the people that you can tell us?"

"Try not to be too direct, sarcastic or condescending in your line of questioning," Falco replied. "One trait of my people is that we're all exceptionally proud. You insult any of them, they will retaliate harshly."

"We've noticed that about Aerobians," Max said.

"I really can't imagine a modest Aerobian," Lily added. "Both of the ones I've met are really arrogant."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Cadet Yushaa," Falco replied. "I'm not sure Golde might. He's young."

"Anything you can suggest, Sir?" Diana asked. "If we drop your name to try and get any additonal information, are we likely to get anywhere?"

"Well, I'd hope so, Cadet Camerons," the Aerobian smiled. "Just do your usual. Find the guy in charge of the investigation and see what he can tell you. Take it from there."

"Aye aye, Commandant," Nick said. "You can count on us."

* * *

"So, this is part of Aerobis," Max said, stepping out of the shuttle. "Well, one of the moons anyway. This is..."

"Screw this!" Lily exclaimed, suddenly noticing something. "How are we supposed to get around?"

Not unlike when they had visited Forestrin in earlier weeks, the settlement they had landed in appeared to be built on an assortment of stilts, a series of very tall buildings all around them. Unlike Forestrin, there were no bridges for them to use to get around.

"He forgot to mention this, didn't he?" Diana wondered. "That it's hard to get around unless you're an Aerobian."

"I suppose if you think about it, it makes sense," Nick commented. "I mean, if you can fly, why would there be any need for bridges? Or roads, or..."

"We get the idea," Sandy said. "So, how are we going to do this? Hovercraft?"

"Nah, I've got a better idea," Lily remarked, smirking as she looked over to Diana. "One that should be just as apt."

"She's smirking at me," Diana said, suddenly realising the way Lily was looking at her. "Why would she possibly be looking at me like that?"

* * *

"I really hate you guys for making me do this," Diana muttered, trying to adjust her body. "This form is really uncomfortable."

"Shut up moaning," Lily said. "You're making yourself useful for a change."

Upon hearing Lily's idea, the yellow ranger had initially refused flat out, on the grounds that she didn't want to. Yet, after minutes of persuasion, she had finally relented and agreed to go along with it. She had used her transformation ability to alter herself into a Skyllian.

"You're doing a great service here, Di," Sandy said, patting the yellow ranger on the back. "We all appreciate this."

"Mrek, how much do you weigh, Sandy?"

"Probably less than you when you're in that form," the blue ranger retorted. "And I've got the excuse of having a stack of metal in my body."

Skyllians, although a rarely seen species in the galaxy, were immediately recognisable to anyone who saw them. The first human from Earth who had seen a picture of one had made the statement that they resembled a Rayquaza. The version that Diana had morphed into was about twenty five feet tall and thicker than the average Rayquaza that had been seen on Earth. Her scales were a dull yellow colour with several pink rings across them, and upon her back sat the four other rangers.

"Whatever it is," the yellow ranger said, darkly. "This is just humiliating."

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Doctor Katongo."

Looking up at his visitor, the Psorian let out a smile, relieved that Falco at least seemed to be in a decent mood.

"That is indeed correct, Sir," he replied, moving over to a storage container in the corner of the room. "Thanks for coming. Before I reveal all, do I have the permission to speak freely and candidly?"

"You do."

"Forgive me for this, but I made a decision, Sir," Doctor Katongo said, quickly. "I've observed footage of the battles which the rangers have fought in, and I have reached a scientific conclusion. As time goes by, enemies will get stronger. Although our rangers will get stronger too with experience, the time will come when they are overwhelmed."

"What are you trying to say, Doctor Katongo?"

"I made the choice that I would build something to help them out when the time comes, Sir," the Psorian said, taking out a metal box. "And, forgive me for that minor act of insurrection, but it has virtually been completed."

Holding out the box, Doctor Katongo watched as the Aerobian reached out to take it from him. As he slipped the catches, opening it up to examine the contents inside, the Psorian drew a deep breath in anticipation of what was going to come.

"Is this what I think it is?" Falco demanded, pulling the glove morpher out. "A sixth morpher?"

"It is indeed, Sir," the Psorian answered. "As I said, it was built completely without orders, I'll accept any punishment for that, but it doesn't change the fact that it may well be needed in the immediate future."

Still turning it over and over in his hands, Falco genuinely had the appearance of someone who didn't know what to say.

"I'm not going to punish you for this," he eventually said, his tone surprisingly soft. "Does this work?"

"I've tested it out in lab conditions, all my tests show that it will work, Sir," the Psorian replied. "I haven't physically used it though, because... Well, it takes a certain sort of individual to use it, and I'm not sure that I fit the criteria."  
"What are the specs of it?"

"It contains power equivalent to the other five morphers combined, Sir," Doctor Katongo answered. "If you'll allow me to give you a quick rundown of the technology..."

"Go ahead."

"The original five morphers were tailor built to be used by anyone, no matter their age, experience, strength, species, you get the idea. In contrast, this morpher uses the same amount of power as the five other morphers put together. A mirror reflection if you like. As I said, it takes a special sort of individual to use it because of the strain of that power on the body. It would require someone extremely tough, both physically and mentally to be able to take it safely."

"Which is my next question," Falco replied. "When you built this, who did you intend to use it?"

"While I was waiting for the process to complete, I ran rule over the crew manifests of this ship, Sir," Doctor Katongo answered. "I have come to the conclusion that, at this moment in time, the only two candidates who would be able to use it safely."

"Go on."

"One is First Mate O'Roarke," the Psorian answered. "And the other is you. However, if I had to choose, I'd rather it went to you because, no offense to Payne, he's not Cosmo Force."

"But, there's a huge range of cadets across the galaxy," Falco replied, not blinking. "Many of whom could probably take the powers on."

"That is indeed true, Sir," Doctor Katongo said. "Is that it then? You want to wait until we're next on the Stronghold and find someone then?"

"I can't see those powers being needed at any point in the immediate future, Doctor," Falco replied. "I'm flattered that you imagine I could use them, but..."

"You don't want to?"

"It's not that I don't want to. It's more that I choose not to. I've spent a life of fighting, I'm trying to enjoy semi retirement from combat."

"I see," the Psorian said. "Well, if you change your mind, then you know where to find me."

* * *

"Ah," an Aerobian detective with the Pidgeotto appearance said, as the five cadets came over to him. He had light blue feathers, while wearing a dark blue law enforcement uniform. "Welcome to Aerobis. I see you managed to find your way over here safely."

"Yeah, just about," Max replied. "It's hard getting around when you can't fly."  
"On behalf of the entire moon, I apologise," the detective answered. "I'm Detective Talen Cloud. You should have called ahead, we'd have sent a patrol vehicle to pick you up."

"This place sure is empty," Lily commented, looking around the office. "Shouldn't there be more police around here?"

"Normally there is," Talen answered. "In fact, there was about ten minutes ago. Then we got reports that a Skyllian had appeared from out of nowhere and was flying around with four hostages on its back. So, everyone went off to try and find it, apart from me because I was expecting you. How did you get here, anyway?"

"Errrr..." Diana said, suddenly going slightly pale.

"Ah, it doesn't matter," Talen said. "So, you're here about the bombings?"

"That's correct," Sandy replied. "Detective Cloud, what can you tell us about them?"

"There's been five over the last two weeks," the Aerobian answered. "No preferred target zone, whoever it is just seems to enjoy causing as much chaos as possible. One was in a church, one was in an office building. Two were on mostly deserted land and the final one was outside another police station."

"About the ones on deserted land," Max said. "Was it deserted because of the time of day, or was it scrubland?"

"Not a lot of scrubland on this moon, Cadet Redwood," Talen answered. "One was a private park, one was a building site. So, a little of both. Even at the best of times, there's not likely to be that many around there."

"Well, that makes no sense," Nick remarked. "If you're going to bomb something, you might as well do it where you'll cause the most damage. Other than annoying the foremen, what's the point of bombing a building site?"

"There was only one death involved there," Talen said. "A long since retired member of the former AFS."

"The AFS?" Diana asked. "You're not going to be offended if I ask you to tell the other cadets what that is, because I'm sure they don't know."

"I know what that is," Sandy replied, giving the yellow ranger a strange look. "Or rather what it was. How can you not know that?"

"Never said that I didn't, did I?"

"The AFS," Lily remarked. "Aerobian Fighting Squadron. Before Aerobis signed up to go under the protection of Cosmo Force, the planet and its system employed quite a large army of elite warriors to take on any threat that came this way. And I'm sure that Falco might well be offended by what you've just said."

"What, because he used to work for them?" Diana asked. "No, I knew what it was, just forgot what the F stood for. It was either fighting or flying, I knew that."

"Falco?" Talen asked, sounding impressed. "Your commandant... It's not Peregrine Griote, is it?"  
"Yeah," Nick replied. "He's our immediate superior."

"I see," Talen said, the awe in his voice growing by the second. "He's a bit of a legend on Aerobis, because of what he's done with his life. Great war hero, not only on this planet, but also with Cosmo Force."

"We'll pass on your regards to him," Sandy said. "Anyway, is there anything else that we can do for you?"

* * *

Sat in the dark room, Eagor found his eyes drifting to the viewing monitor in front of him, wondering when the call was going to come. Like the rest of the room, it was dark, the only strain of light coming through the crack underneath the door. Unlike before, his eyes were black, the true sign of the Obliving inside him coming to the surface.

"Come on!" he muttered, twisting one of the coin bombs up underneath his fingers. "I haven't got all day."

As if on cue, the screen suddenly flickered on, the white eyes and teeth of the figure he was about to speak to the only thing that was visible in the darkness.

"I see patience is not one of your virtues, Hawley," he said, darkly. "I will be in touch with you when I am ready. Not when you want me to. Remember your place."

"I apologise, Samedi."

"That is better," Samedi replied, sounding mollified. "How goes your bombing campaign on Aerobis?"

"I'm actually on the Airspace Moon," Eagor answered. "Seemed less chance of getting caught. All the local cops are currently chasing a Skyllian which appeared earlier, only to vanish. Five complete bombings as we speak. After we've finished, I'll go do another one."

"Well, you are going to expose yourself," Samedi said, briskly. "Cosmo Force are currently in orbit. That's the real aim of what I set you to do. Lure them out and destroy them."

"I am powerful, Samedi," Eagor said. "But, they have the numerical advantage."

"That is not something I am unaware of," Samedi answered. "Outnumbering them is a two way street, I have taken steps to ensure that you can battle this threat. You got what I sent for you?"

"Yeah, they're stored in a warehouse."

"I got those for you at great expense, I won't be pleased if you screw this up."

"I won't, Samedi," Eagor answered, placing a fist against his chest. "Your problems will be over by the end of the day."

"They had better be!"

* * *

"That's really all I can tell you," Talen said. "We're stumped for leads, and we're not like some species who can talk to the dead to find out who murdered them. The guy who was blown up at the building site could probably have described the bomber, but it's not helpful knowing that."

"Well, we really would like to help you out with this," Sandy remarked. "But I can't see that there's a lot we can do. Short of going over the crime scenes again, looking at ourselves..."

"Which we don't like to do, because it makes the assumption that you guys aren't doing your jobs properly," Lily added. "But, it might be about the only thing we can do."

"I won't be offended if that is what you decide to do," the Aerobian replied. "But, some others on the force might be, so keep quiet about it. Don't want to have to intervene because someone's smacked you on the nose for..."

"Well, it's about all we can do," Max said. "Because, it's not like there's any chance of whoever committed these crimes just wandering into a public place and announcing his presence."

On cue, the radio on Talen's desk buzzed into action, the detective moving down to punch a button and answer it.

"Excuse me a moment," he said to the five cadets, before focusing on the radio. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Detective, there's a guy on the Feartor Square with a blaster and a bomb, demanding that he wants Cosmo Force to come and try to arrest him. The area has been evacuated, but..."

"Told you!" Nick exclaimed suddenly. "Told you there was no way whoever this was would come quietly."

"He's asking for you," Talen said, the connection on the radio dying. "What do you want to do about it?"

"Can you arrange some transport for us?" Max asked. "We don't want to go over there the way we came here, not if it's going to cause another furore."

"Why, what actually did you do?" Talen asked. "You've mentioned it twice before, but... Is it something I probably should know about?"

"Probably, but to save a long explanation, I think you might as well call of the search for that Skyllian," Diana said, sheepishly.

"What?"

* * *

"There he is!" Lily exclaimed, the five cadets and Talen moving across the square towards the figure ahead. "That has to be the guy, right?"

"Don't see too many other guys shooting into the air," Nick commented, sarcastically. "Although, on your line of thought, that might not be the guy."

"Hey!" Max shouted, his call getting the attention of the Aerobian ahead of them. "Are you the guy who wanted to talk to Cosmo Force?"

The response from Eagor was to shoot at him, the six figures hurling themselves to the ground to evade the wild shot.

"Cadets, take him down," Talen muttered, rolling behind cover. "Before he hurts someone."

"Right!" Diana yelled, standing up. "I agree with him. Let's get this on, rangers!"

"Ready?" Max asked, before bringing up his morpher. "Cosmosis!"

Transforming into their ranger suits, the five of them ran towards Eagor, only to find that he had vanished while they were morphing.

"Where'd he go?" Lily wondered, glancing around. "He has to be here, somewhere..."

"Oh crap!" Diana exclaimed, suddenly. "He's an Aerobian. He can..."

Crashing down from above them, Eagor grabbed Max by the back of the neck and tossed him up into the air, the red ranger crashing to the ground. Before Sandy could react, he kicked out at her, sending her falling into Lily.

"... Fly," the yellow ranger finished, rather lamely.

As the black and blue rangers went down, Nick brought out his Cosmo Baton and tried to hit the Aerobian, only for Eagor to turn and block the blow.

"Bad move, Geckile," he warned, his arm coming up to hold Nick tight. "You're in a perilous position now!"

At that, his wings began to heavily beat out, striking Nick repeatedly. As the green ranger fell, Diana leaped over him and kicked Eagor in the stomach. He was barely fazed by the blow, turning to strike her with a wing, a hammer blow that knocked her off her feet.

"Man, this guy's pumped up," Max groaned, trying to get to his feet. Before he could, Eagor kicked him in the face, putting him back down.

"This all you got?" he crowed, allowing the black shadows to pass across his eyes, the Obliving revealing its presence. "I'm amazed that you got this far against my brothers. Nothing left in the tank?"

"Actually, I'm here!"

Turning, Eagor saw Talen walking towards him, a blaster in his hand. Pulling the trigger, Talen sent several shots towards him, Eagor managing to dodge them all with complete ease.

"You're under arrest," the detective warned. "On several explosive related charges, disturbing the peace, trespassing, attacking cadets of Cosmo Force..."

"Yeah, I plead guilty," Eagor laughed, pointing his own blaster at Talen. "And how about you add murder to that!"

He pulled the trigger, his blast hitting Talen in the head. As the detective fell down dead, Eagor began to laugh.

"Arrest me, honestly," he remarked, shaking his head in mirth. "Better guys than you have tried."

"You piece of mrek!"

Behind him, he saw that the five rangers were back on their feet, none of them seeming to be too pleased by what he had just done. The shout had come from Lily.

"Where those guys have failed, we're going to succeed in bringing you in!" Max growled. "For Talen! Nightfire Cannon!"

Holding out his arms, the red ranger felt the weapon materialise in his grip, before he aimed it at the Aerobian.

"Farewell, mrekhead!" Nick taunted. "You're going down. You'll fit in well with all the other murderers in Acathria!"

"Nightfire Cannon!" Max yelled. "Fire!"

From the barrel of the weapon, a bright red beam shot out towards Eagor, the rangers holding their breath in anticipation...

... Only for the Aerobian to jump up above the blast, taking flight away from the beam. Despite Max's best attempts to focus the beam on him, the laser eventually died away, Eagor landing in front of them, completely unharmed by the weapon.

"Again, I ask if that's all you've got," he taunted, revelling in their failure. "But, shall we raise the stakes? See if you fail as masterfully at that as you have here."

Clapping his hands together, Eagor hurled himself back into the air, as two huge mechanoids came onto the scene, one modelled after an Aerobian, another modelled after a Fearack, a Fearow-like Poké Alien. Getting into the Aerobian one, he got on the loudspeaker, moving to challenge the rangers.

"Let's see what you've got!"

Down below, Max spoke up, annoyed by what had happened, but determined.

"We need to take this guy down," he said, already looking to the sky. "He might have two mechanoids up there, but we can't let that stop us. You with me?"

"As always," Sandy said, the other three rangers all voicing their agreement.

"Then, we need the Cosmo Fighters!" the red ranger shouted. "Now!"

* * *

Swooping down from the sky above them, the Cosmo Fighters arrived on the scene, the automated transport systems bringing the rangers on board. In response to their arrival, the morph drives activated, transforming the Cosmo Fighter into their Zord forms.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation!"

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

"It's time for you to face Alpha Mechanoid and Beta Mechanoid," Eagor taunted from Alpha Mechanoid. "Enjoy it, for this will be your final fight."

"Proving my point from earlier," Lily muttered, as the two other robots began to circle the Cosmo Megazord. "All Aerobians are too damn arrogant for their own good."

Moving into battle, the Cosmo Megazord threw a punch at Alpha Mechanoid, hitting it in the chest. As the robot staggered back, Beta Mechanoid came in and grabbed the Cosmo Megazord from behind. Struggling to break free, the Megazord was then swiped several times by Alpha Mechanoid's wings, the strikes dealing a large amount of damage to the giant robot.

"Man, we need to break free!" Max exclaimed. "He's got us in a lock. Any suggestions?"

"I've got one," Lily said, hitting several buttons in front of her. "Shadow Uppercut!"

Although the attack didn't hit anything, the amount of force with which the Megazord threw the rising uppercut was enough to force it out of Beta Mechanoid's grip. Turning around, the Cosmo Megazord kicked Beta Mechanoid in the chest. As the second enemy robot took the blow, Alpha Mechanoid went to stand by it.

"That's my cue to attack!" Sandy said, activating her controls. "We hit them both hard and fast. Cyber Pulse!"

At her command, the pulsating blue beam shot out from the Porygon arm, crashing into the two mechanoids. Sparks shot up across the bodies of the enemy robots, but they hadn't seemed to have taken too much damage from the blast.

"Time for a bit more!" Max yelled. "Fire Bomb Blast!"

Appearing from the chest of the Cosmo Megazord, the cannons let rip with a barrage of fireballs, the attack sailing through the air to crash land across the two mechanoids and cover them in flames.

"That did something!" Nick shouted. "Nice hit, Max!"

From out of the smoke and flames, the two mechanoids came charging at the Cosmo Megazord, both of them attacking at the same time. Beta Mechanoid lowered its head and attacked with a Drill Peck, the attack piercing through the chest of the Cosmo Megazord. Like before, Alpha Mechanoid hit out with a flurry of Wing Attacks, the armour on the Cosmo Megazord becoming dented and broken under the assault. To finish off, the two robots both unleashed an Air Slash towards the Cosmo Megazord, the blasts hurling it off its feet and to the ground...

* * *

"Mr. Griote is entering the cockpit!"

Ignoring Techno 9 as he strode in, Falco saw both Payne and Golde looking down at the ships computers, watching the action taking place on the battlefield far below them.

"What's happening?" the Aerobian demanded, moving over to get a better view. "Techno 9 told me to come here and see what was going on."

"They're outnumbered," Golde replied. "That Aerobian sprung two mechanoids on them, they've formed the Megazord, but it's just not happening for them."

"Any ID on the Aerobian?" Falco wondered. "And give me the battle status."

"An ID is currently in progress," Techno 9 answered. "As it stands, my battle simulations show that the Cosmo Megazord will be defeated in five minutes."

"Five minutes?" Payne asked, glancing up at the computer. "It was ten a few minutes ago."

"I said that five minutes ago, Mr. O'Roarke."

"If need be, we'll have to take the Night Hawk in and blast with our onboard lasers," Falco said. "I really hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that."

"We can't do that unless we have to," Golde replied. "They're fighting in a really built up area. You give that order, then there will be collateral damage."

"We have to do something though," Payne said, grimly. Then, Techno 9 spoke up.

"If anyone is interested," she remarked. "I have managed to gain identification on the Aerobian from AFS data banks. His name is Eagor Hawley..."

"Hawley!" Falco exclaimed, almost jumping several feet into the air. "What the mrek is he doing there?"

"... And every indicator is that he has been possessed by an Obliving," Techno 9 finished, causing Falco to react again, the Commandant not taking the news well.

"You know him, Sir?" Golde asked, turning to try and see the strange colour that his superior had gone.

His question fell on deaf ears, as the Commandant turned to stride out, a dark look on his face.

"You know what's going on, Payne?" the pilot wondered.

"Apparently not.

* * *

"Katongo!"

Seeing the door slam open in front of him, the Psorian was greeted by the sight of the enraged Aerobian storming into his workshop.

"Hello, Sir," he remarked, an uneasy grin on his face. Although his telepathy wasn't particularly strong, he was picking up some strange vibes from him. "What can I do for you?"

"There's a problem on the planet below us," Falco growled. "You know what I'm here for!"

"So, you've changed your mind about it?"  
"No, I've had it changed for me."

"Ah..." Doctor Katongo replied, gulping. "I'll just go and find it."

"Time is an issue!"

* * *

The blow from Alpha Mechanoid hit the back of the Cosmo Megazord, knocking it forward into an attack from Beta Mechanoid. Inside the giant robot, the five rangers began to yell as the consoles started to fizz and crackle because of the intense punishment being dealt out to it.

"Any ideas?" Diana asked. "I would call for a Giga Slam, but I don't think it's going to do any good here."  
"Ditto the Star Blade," Nick commented. "If we summoned that, our remaining power wouldn't be enough to take both of them down. Possibly one of them, but our systems would be drained and we wouldn't have a chance."

"Any reserves of power that we can run on?" Lily wondered. "To at least give us a fighting chance, anyway?"

"We hit reserves of power a few minutes ago," Sandy said. "It's almost gone."

Again, the two mechanoids struck out with their attacks, another Drill Peck and another Wing attack slamming into the giant robot.

"Maybe we should split apart and attack in Zord form," Max said. "At least then we'd have the advantage of numbers..."

"It wouldn't do any good," Sandy said, gripping the side of her seat as Alpha Mechanoid hit them again. "By the time we'd broken apart, our individual Zords would have so little power remaining that they would likely be destroyed by one decent hit."

"Guys, I think I've just worked out how we should have battled him," Diana said, weakly. "But, it's too late now"

Proving her point, another Air Slash slammed into the Cosmo Megazord, causing the consoles inside to explode.

"Evacuate!" Max yelled. "We're going down!"

Reaching out to the big red button next to his head, he activated the emergency evacuation system, immediately being teleported out of the Megazord.

* * *

All five of them appeared at roughly the same time and place, collapsing to the ground. At the same time, the two mechanoids hit the Cosmo Megazord again, knocking it over. With nobody inside it, there wasn't any chance of it getting back up.

"I hate that we just did that," Nick said, groaning as the sound of manic laughter rang out all around them.

Sitting up, the rangers saw the collapsed Megazord next to them, while the two mechanoids belonging to Eagor stood triumphant above their giant robot.

"Can't believe it's ending this way," Lily moaned, hearing the laughs of the Aerobian above them. Looking up, they saw him stood on the shoulder of his mechanoid, enjoying their defeat. "Worst thing is, he's laughing at us."

"At least he's not killing us," Sandy said, dryly. "That's something I'd be more worried about."

"Rangers!" Eagor bellowed down at them, flaring his wings out. "You have been beaten! How does it feel?"

"You're about to find out!"

Hearing the roar from somewhere, the rangers looked up to see a blur streak across the sky, homing in on Eagor. Before the Aerobian could react, the shape hit him, knocking him off the mechanoid. Although he fell, the fall didn't last long, forcing Eagor to open up his wings and float to the ground.

"Guess we got lucky," Nick said. "But who was that!"

As if to answer his question, the blur hit the ground in front of them, a cloud of dust rising up as he landed. Several seconds passed before the dust cleared to reveal Falco.

"You!" Eagor howled. "Not you!"

"Eagor," Falco said, nodding respectfully at him. "Rangers!"

"What are you doing here, Old Man?" the other Aerobian asked, his eyes turning black because of the Obliving in him. "You try to face me, and I will use my new power to put you down."

"Thought that's what you might say," Falco remarked, bringing up his fist to reveal the black and silver coloured glove morpher that he had been given. "Which is why I brought something with me!"

"Is that a morpher?" Max asked, surprised. "What the... What does this mean?"

Holding his palm out flat, Falco slapped his other fist against the morpher, a silver light erupting from the item.

"Cosmosis!" he roared, the silver light starting to fan out in front of him...

* * *

To Be Continued...

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**You see it coming? Suffice to say, some of you may have.**

**Quick note, the Chatbot comment about them being inept comes after one of the more recent Dino Force chapters, where Tweetie turns out to be a pretty poor liar.**

**But yeah, there's the sixth ranger. And, it's Falco. Adds leverage to the statement that this is pretty similar to SPD. And it also might explain why I was bigging him up at the end of the last episode.**

**Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated.**

**Oh no! The first time the Megazord has been defeated here. Will they be able to manage with it defeated. Or, does Doctor Katongo have something else in stock.**

**Next one will be the concluding part. Preview is below.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Fifteen, Mirror: Part Two, preview.**

**Eagor: What are you?**

**Falco: I am Mirror Ranger! Your worst nightmare, Eagor.**

**Sandy: So what's the story with you and Eagor?**

**Falco: It was all a long time ago...**

**Samedi: Either get it right this time, or don't come back at all.**

**Falco: Activating morph drive! Mirror Hawk Megazord!**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	15. Mirror: Part Two

Chapter Fifteen. Mirror: Part Two.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_On a moon above the planet Aerobis, an Obliving possessed Aerobian took part in a spate of bombings. A short time after, the act came to the attention of the crew of the Night Hawk, who immediately went to the Airspace Moon to see what was going on. Despite inadvertently causing some chaos as they tried to get around, they met up with a local Detective who tried to help them out. Meanwhile, Doctor Katongo informed Falco that he had built a sixth morpher, and the bomber, Eagor Hawley made contact with Samedi. Eagor drew the rangers out, before beating them down with ease. It got worse when his two Mechanoids managed to defeat the Cosmo Megazord, until Falco came onto the scene to help them, activating the new morpher..._

_

* * *

_

"Rangers!" Eagor bellowed down at them, flaring his wings out. "You have been beaten! How does it feel?"

"You're about to find out!"

Hearing the roar from somewhere, the rangers looked up to see a blur streak across the sky, homing in on Eagor. Before the Aerobian could react, the shape hit him, knocking him off the mechanoid. Although he fell, the fall didn't last long, forcing Eagor to open up his wings and float to the ground.

"Guess we got lucky," Nick said. "But who was that!"

As if to answer his question, the blur hit the ground in front of them, a cloud of dust rising up as he landed. Several seconds passed before the dust cleared to reveal Falco.

"You!" Eagor howled. "Not you!"

"Eagor," Falco said, nodding respectfully at him. "Rangers!"

"What are you doing here, Old Man?" the other Aerobian asked, his eyes turning black because of the Obliving in him. "You try to face me, and I will use my new power to put you down."

"Thought that's what you might say," Falco remarked, bringing up his fist to reveal the black and silver coloured glove morpher that he had been given. "Which is why I brought something with me!"

"Is that a morpher?" Max asked, surprised. "What the... What does this mean?"

Holding his palm out flat, Falco slapped his other fist against the morpher, a silver light erupting from the item.

"Cosmosis!" he roared, the silver light starting to fan out in front of him. That silver light formed the shape of a mirror, the reflective surface moving away through Falco to create his ranger suit.

The suit in question was a silver colour, although the belt, boots and gloves were black. His belt had a blaster on the right thigh, while both his gloves had a white rectangle on them. The right side of the chest had a huge number six across it in black with a white outline, while there were black bands across the upper arms. His helmet was shaped to fit his Pidgeot head, while also had a design in the style of the same Pokémon. The visor was rectangular, while instead of a mouthpiece, it had a pointed beak outline. Behind him, Falco spread his wings out for a moment, before folding them away behind his ranger suit.

"What are you?" Eagor exclaimed in horror. "This is impossible!"

"I am the Mirror Ranger!" Falco replied, angrily. "Your worst nightmare, Eagor."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"If that's the way that you want to play it then, Peregrine!" Eagor roared. "Then I'll gladly put you down the way I've put your cadets down then."

"Sir?" Sandy asked, trying to get up to her feet. "Is this some sort of mirage?"

"No mirage, Cadet Garcia," Falco answered. "Your work here is done, I'll deal with this blight."

"Blight, is it?" Eagor squawked. "You do me too little credit, Peregrine. It is you who is the blight. The blight of my existence."

"Actually, that's a good thing," Nick pointed out. "Since you're a psychopath."

"Quiet you!" Eagor shouted, bringing his blaster up to point at the green ranger. "Wonder what sort of reaction I'll get from you if I shoot one of your cadets dead, Peregrine. Want to find out?"

Before the rogue Aerobian could pull the trigger, Falco's hand dropped to his waist and brought up the silver blaster that hung there. As he looked at it, he saw that it was much larger than a regular Cosmo Blaster, probably nearly three times the size. It was coloured a shiny silver, his reflection visible in the barrel which was engraved with several strange markings.

"Mirror Blaster!"

Pulling the trigger, a powerful burst of silver energy erupted from the weapon and hit Eagor's blaster, forcing it out of his hand and almost removing half of his hand as well. Screaming in pain, the possessed Aerobian clutched his hand against his chest, before managing to start running towards Falco.

"How dare you!" Eagor bellowed, throwing a punch at the Mirror Ranger with his uninjured hand. Falco blocked it without too much trouble, before kicking his opponent in the stomach, a blow which knocked him off his feet.

"How dare I?" Falco replied, pulling the other Aerobian up by the throat. "You would threaten the peace and sanctity of this place?"

Again, the Mirror Ranger kicked him in the chest, Eagor letting out a weak howl as he felt the full force of the blow. Summoning up reserves of strength from somewhere, he managed to break out of Falco's grip, before pushing him back. Flaring out his wings, Eagor rose into the sky, only for Falco to stretch out his own wings and start to follow him up into the air.

"You're not going to escape," the Mirror Ranger warned. "I wouldn't try it."

"You wouldn't, but I am," Eagor retorted. "And you're going to let me go."

Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a credit shaped grenade and tossed it down to the ground, the item landing near the defeated rangers, none of who were in any real condition to get away from it.

"Decisions, decisions, Peregrine," Eagor taunted, already flying away from the Mirror Ranger. "I'll be seeing you."

Growling in frustration, Falco knew what it was he had to do, turning back towards the ground as fast as he could. Landing in front of the rangers, he kicked the grenade away, watching it explode in relative safety several feet away from them.

However, as he looked back at the sky, he knew that Eagor had escaped. By the time he got back into the sky, the chances of finding the rogue Aerobian would be slim beyond belief.

* * *

"Thank you so much for that, Sir!" Diana exclaimed, the six of them coming out of the shuttle to enter the Night Hawk. "You really pulled us out of it."

"It's not a problem, Cadet Camerons," Falco replied. "I was suddenly worried about the five of you. Especially where Eagor Hawley is concerned. He's a nasty piece of work."

"Yeah, we noticed," Lily said, rubbing her jaw. "Pumped up, even for an Aerobian."

"I think that owes more to the Obliving, rather than anything he did himself," Falco said, his face contorting with disgust as he thought about the other Aerobian. "He never was that skilled of his own volition."

"So, what's the story with you and Eagor?" Sandy wondered. "If you feel like telling it."

"What makes you think there's any sort of story, Cadet Garcia?"

"Intuition," the blue ranger answered. "And there's also that thing where the two of you look like you really hate each of you."

"It was all a long time ago..." Falco started to say. "Make of it what you will."

* * *

_"Damnit, take more care with that Aero Fighter!" the voice at the other end of the radio said, angrily. "You're flying like you've been at the Yellow Stripe."_

_"I've got it, don't worry!" Peregrine grunted into the radio. "Steering's a little loose. I'll have to check it when I get back."_

_"Private Griote, if there's a problem with your ship, land and check it out. That's an order, you know the procedure."_

_Not arguing, the young Aerobian, still only in his Pidgey stage of life, reached down to the landing controls. Pushing them down, he felt his ship start to descend, slowly at first before it began to pick up speed._

_It was only when he reached a certain point that he noticed something was wrong. Despite his best efforts to bring them out, the landing gears seemed to be stuck. Suddenly quite worried, he banged his fist against it, the action only serving to bring a harsh whine out of the Aero Fighter._

_"Damn," he whispered, looking for the manual override. If he hit the ground as the fighter currently was, the ship could spin out of control, could overturn, a fuel line could be slashed. None of which were something that he wanted._

_Punching the manual override switch, the Aero Fighter let out another whine, before shuddering. Smoke started to cough out from the engines at the rear, the pillar of smog rising up into the evening sky. Now, really worried, he tried the manual override switch again, with the same results._

_"Mayday mayday, this is Aero Fighter 692185, my engines are failing. Going to have to abandon ship."_

_"Understood, Private," the voice at the other end of the line replied, not sounding overly concerned. He didn't expect them to. "Do you want us to send a transport out to pick you up, or can you make your own way back."_

_"I'm going to make my own way back," Peregrine answered. "You might want to send a transport out to collect the wreckage, but..."_

_"Don't tell us how to do our job, Private," the voice snapped. "We'll wait until you get back."_

_"I'm going to have to abandon ship soon," the young Aerobian said, not letting the criticism faze him. "Need to go."_

_Shutting the radio off, he hit the button to open up the thick plastic hatch, the harsh rake of the air hitting him as it opened. Gripping both sides of the cockpit, Peregrine pulled himself out, standing atop the vehicle for a moment, before letting go. His wings flared out and he was caught in the wind, soaring up into the sky._

_

* * *

_

_Surprisingly, the Aero Fighter hadn't been that badly damaged on impact. Landing a few feet away from it, Peregrine began to examine it with interest, wondering what had happened. Moving over to the front of the vehicle, he yanked away the maintenance panel, hoping to see if there was anything he could do right now._

_"That's interesting," he muttered, seeing several torn wires inside the panel. "Really interesting. There's not a chance that that happened accidentally."_

_He quickly came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to fix it here, meaning that he had to make his own way back to base. At least he'd get some kudos among his peers for the feat of walking back. Crashing wasn't that uncommon in the training for the AFS. It was how you bounced back from it that shaped your future._

_Coughing, he felt something rough and dry at the back of his throat. It probably wasn't anything serious, otherwise he'd have noticed it before now. Probably just a speck of rock that had flown in as he had evacuated the Aero Fighter. Looking around, he saw a pool of water across from him, the young Aerobian taking the chance to go over and clear it out._

_

* * *

_

_As he finished gargling out the piece of stone, he heard the beat of wings in the air above him. Glancing up, he saw another Aerobian above him, one in much the same mould as him. He knew the figure, the black feathers giving him away. His name was Eagor Hawley, the two of them were in the same platoon. He saw Eagor come to land next to the damaged Aero Fighter, knowing that it wasn't possibly a rescue party. Not only had he asked them not to, it was also too soon. Staying where he was, Peregrine watched Eagor with interest, wondering what he was doing._

_Next to the Aero Fighter, Eagor glanced at the removed control panel, then at the cockpit before letting out a stream of curses. From where he was, Peregrine could make some of it out._

_"Where are you, you bastard!" Eagor screeched. "Since you apparently don't have the good grace to die..."_

_That was too much for him to hear, Peregrine rose up from behind the rock._

_"You know something about this, Hawley?" he demanded. "Or is it just coincidence that you're here?"_

_"Ah, Peregrine," Eagor said, his previous frustration vanishing in a split second. "This your Aero Fighter. I didn't know... Thought it was someone else's..."_

_"Who do you want dead, Eagor?" Peregrine asked, harshly. "What's this about?"_

_"Okay, you got me," Eagor replied, bringing up a laser pistol to point at him. "You really have. I don't have an answer to that. It was you! You're the one who I tried to kill. This time, I'm not going to fail!"_

_"You're trying to kill me?" Peregrine wondered, slightly shocked by the revelation. "Why?"_

_"Why do you think?" the other Aerobian squawked. "I'm in love with her! You took her away from me!"  
"This is about Tawnya?" Peregrine asked, surprised. "I never stole her from you. She just thought you were an incompetent loner and ignored you because of it!"_

_"I'm not incompetent!" Eagor howled, firing his weapon into the air. "Take that back, or..."_

_"Or what? You'll kill me? You already tried that once, I'm still here, aren't I?"_

_"That was just unlucky. You were supposed to crash and die..."_

_"But I didn't!" Peregrine replied, grimly. "Now, put the weapon down before you get hurt!"_

_"Make me!"_

_

* * *

_

"So, that's what happened," Falco remarked, finishing the story. "The two of us fought, I managed to get the weapon away from him and beat him down. I then used the radio to call for assistance, told them that Eagor had tried to kill me. The transport came in, I loaded Eagor on board and then made my own way back to base. When I got back there, I found that he'd been kicked out of the AFS and had been locked up. Think he got twelve years for trying to kill me."

"Wow," Max said. "No wonder he hates you."

"I'm not to blame for what Eagor became," Falco replied. "Don't even try to push the blame onto me, Cadet Redwood."

"I'm not saying that you are, Sir," Max quickly backtracked. "Just that I can see why he would have the reason to dislike you."

"So, don't Aerobians have the death penalty?" Lily wondered. "Maybe if you had, we wouldn't have to deal with him now."

"If it wasn't him, it'd be someone else," Falco replied. "I did hear that he'd descended further into a life of crime when he got out of jail, but never physically saw him again until today. What I didn't know was that he'd gotten that much tougher."

"Sir, you absolutely wrecked him," Diana pointed out. "He's no match for the Mirror Ranger."

"I didn't have that much trouble with him, Cadet Camerons, because he was badly wounded," Falco replied. "He's currently missing half a hand, that would affect anyone's ability in combat. He'll heal up and come back again, just as deadly as before."

"You think we're going to get another crack at him?" Nick wondered. "He's not going to just vanish into the woodwork?"

"Nah, he's not smart enough to do that," Falco answered. "He'll be back. When he is, we'll get him."

"Excellent," Sandy said. "Think we owe him some payback after what happened. Guess there's just one question that we need to ask now, Sir."

"Go on."

"Who was Tawnya?"

Rather than answer, Falco turned away from them and strode out of the docking bay, leaving five bemused rangers behind.

"That was a bit rude," Diana muttered. "She was only wondering."

* * *

"Are you really sure that you know what you're doing here?" Chebek wondered, as he and Blister watched Doctor Katongo move his fingers across the engines of the Night Hawk. "I'm sure there's a rule somewhere that we should be the only ones to touch the engines."

"Do you know how to do what it is that I'm doing?" the Psorian retorted. "Because if you do, then I'll gladly step aside and let you take care of it."

"I don't know what it is that you're doing, never mind how to do it," said Blister. "So, that's a problem. What is that piece of machinery?"

"You want me to explain away this highly sophisticated piece of technology?" Doctor Katongo asked. "This expensive piece of the finest engineering this side of the Metonian shipyards above Sancrene?"

"That makes no sense," Chebek said. "It's just a bunch of random compliments glued together to try and prove a point."

"That, my boy, is a persuasive argument," Doctor Katongo replied, only for Blister to pipe up.

"No, it isn't."

"Aww, aren't you clever. Congratulations for working that out," the Psorian smiled. "I'm really impressed at that level of ingenuity."  
"Okay, you don't have to be a pile of mrek about it."

"Anyway, you want to know what this is?"

"Let's hear it."

"Right," Doctor Katongo said, rubbing his hands together. "I already told you that this was a marvel of engineering, that it was a highly sophisticated piece of technology... It's a morph drive."

"You mean those things that the Cosmo Fighters the rangers use?" Chebek asked. "That's awesome!" But you're right. We'd have no idea how to attack one to the engines."

"That's okay," the Psorian answered. "You can help me out in another way. This way isn't as complicated, but..."

"Okay, let's go for it then!" exclaimed Blister. "What is it?"

"... it is much more dangerous," Doctor Katongo finished, those words quiet before he spoke up. "I need you to attach something to the top of the Night Hawk in order for it to work. An aerial dish that amplifies the signals of the morph drive."  
"What, now?" Chebek asked, suddenly looking less than enthusiastic. "While we're airborne?"

"That's correct," the Psorian answered. "I'm not unreasonable, I wouldn't ask you to do it while the ship was moving at warp speeds. But while it's hovering here, that's fine."

"Okay, after you, Chebek," Blister said, taking a step back. "You first!"

"Why've I got to go first?"

"Because I suffer from dead space sickness. And cowardice."

* * *

Having disinfected and bandaged his wounded hand, Eagor had spent the last several minutes slowly cooling off. Seeing Peregrine again had shaken him, and not in a good way. A lot of bad blood had been spilled between them in the past, the animosity that he felt towards him was completely justified.

It was all because of Tawnya, he thought, grimly. If he hadn't had the misfortune to develop feelings for her, he wouldn't have tried to kill him when he was younger. He wouldn't have been kicked out of the AFS, he wouldn't have been locked up and he wouldn't be where he was now.

That was when the communication device activated, the video image of Samedi flashing up on the screen in front of him.

"Greetings, Eagor," the shadow covered figure said, cordially. "I see you're back. Tell me, how went the task that I appointed you? Are you celebrating a great victory?"

The Aerobian gulped, looking down at the bottle of alcohol in front of him that he had used to clean his wounds, and realised how it looked.

"Actually..." he began to say. "I'm currently just..."

"You failed to do it, didn't you?" Samedi asked, his voice still soft. "Tell me that I'm wrong."

"You're not wrong, Mr. Samedi," Eagor quickly said. "It went something like this. I was about to take the five of them down, I'd defeated their Megazord..."

"Oh go on," Samedi said, sarcastically. "I just can't wait to hear how you managed to screw it up from this point."

"And then a sixth ranger arrived. Someone I knew in a past life, actually. I would have taken him out as well, but he got a lucky shot in and I had to retreat to recover."

"Eagor," Samedi replied, condescendingly. "Have I ever failed to pay you for the services I have asked you to do? Have I ever done you any harm? Have I ever disrespected you in such a strong fashion that you feel the need to do the same to me now?"

"That's incorrect on all counts..." Eagor said, only for Samedi to visibly explode with anger in front of him.

"Then why have you failed me? Is it really that hard for you to do something so simple?"

"I couldn't have foreseen the intervention of the Mirror Ranger. If you wanted someone to do that, you should have hired a psychic!"

"I don't want your excuses," Samedi growled. Even though he could have been many galaxies away, Eagor could feel the anger radiating from him. "I want you to do the job for which I have paid you. But, because I'm in a good mood and because it is the birthday of my daughter, I'm going to give you another chance to get it done."  
"Oh, thank you, Samedi!" Eagor exclaimed, dropping to his knees in relief. "You don't know how much that means to me!"

"Either get it right this time," said Samedi. "Or don't come back at all. I don't want to hear your excuses, just take the six of them down."

"I won't fail you this time, Samedi," Eagor replied. "At least I know what I'm up against this time. Unless they pull another ranger out of somewhere, I'm not going to be surprised in the same way."

"That's very true," Samedi said, nodding in agreement. "Happy hunting, Eagor."

"Thanks, Boss," the Aerobian answered. "And wish your daughter a happy birthday from me."

"I shall do so."

* * *

"Man, how great is it to have someone else to rely on if it comes down to it," Nick said, leaning back in his seat. "I tell you what. That Mirror Ranger is going to be a powerful addition to the team."

"It's true," Lily commented. "If he hadn't arrived when he did, we would have been defeated."

Rather than say anything, Max sat there, a pensive look on his face as he studied the bottle of water in front of him.

"What's up?" Sandy wondered, looking to him. "You don't seem very happy."

"I'm happy that we didn't die," Max replied, quietly. "I'm just annoyed that we couldn't defeat Eagor on our own. I mean, there's five of us and one of him. We should have been able to use our advantage better than we did."

"Fighting Aerobians can be tough," said Diana. "Especially when they're at their peak. Eagor might not be a patch on the Commandant, but he's still a formidable foe. We'll just have to learn from it and take things from here."

"That's a surprisingly positive attitude from you," Max said, rolling his eyes. "It's just bugging me a bit."

* * *

Having ended his conversation with Samedi, Eagor had decided to take the first step in his new plan. He needed some way of drawing Peregrine and the other rangers out, some way of nullifying the Aerobian's advantage over him. Utilising the same plan as before was an idea, but he didn't think that they'd fall for the same trick twice, meaning he had to think of something new.

That was when he had arrived in one of the smarter neighbourhoods on the Airspace Moon, having discovered that the one who he was looking for was here somewhere. All it took was finding out where, followed by a quick call up to Peregrine's ship and the game would start...

* * *

"That's interesting," Payne commented, smirking as Falco walked into the cockpit. "Didn't think you had it in you to pull something like that off. Interesting story about you and Eagor though. Should be a holo show."

"Techno 9," Falco said, grimly. "If these two ever want to listen in on private conversations again, kindly inform them that if they go through with them, I won't be happy."

"I did inform them that you wouldn't like what they were doing," Techno 9 answered. "But, unfortunately, they ignored me. However, I agree with Mr. O'Roarke. Interesting story."

"What's going on with the world?" asked Falco, having given the AI interface a dirty look. "Any sign of Eagor show up on the monitor?"

"That's negative," said Golde. "We've found feather nor wing of him. Assuming he's still on planet, he hasn't risen out of where he's hiding yet."

"I don't think he's left the planet," Falco said. "Although, it might be an idea to put his name and picture at the space ports, just to be on the safe side."

"Already did," Golde replied. "But, that's probably just covering the bases. If he wants to get off the moon that badly, there's bound to be someone out there who won't use the space ports."

"As you say, we have to cover that basis just to be on the safe side," said Falco, as the console in front of Golde began to beep, a series of lights flashing to show a message was incoming. "You going to answer that?"

"Give me a chance, Sir," Golde answered, pushing several buttons. "Okay, this is the Night Hawk. Who is this?"

"Night Hawk?" the familiar voice on the other end of the line snickered. "That's just the sort of name that someone like Peregrine would give his ship."

"Eagor Hawley, I assume?" asked Payne. "Eagor, this is the first mate. Can I ask you a question?"

"I'm answering nothing," the rogue Aerobian answered. "Where's Peregrine. Get him up here right away, I want to taunt him."

"I'm already here, you insignificant wing sore!" Falco snapped. "What do you want?"

"Eagor, who was Tawnya?" Payne asked, cutting the other Aerobian off before he could answer. "Because the Commandant is being a bit evasive."

"Oh, Commandant is it now?" retorted Eagor, sarcastically. "Many congratulations. Although, it probably isn't a good idea not to be completely honest with those under your command."

"Will you stop giving him information that he doesn't need to know?" Falco demanded, giving Payne a savage look. "It's not helpful."

"Ah, there he is, being all masterful," Eagor taunted. "Some things never change. They say all Aerobians are arrogant, but Peregrine there more so than most. Funny that you should mention Tawnya though, because that's who I'm calling about."

Both Golde and Payne looked at Falco, the Commandant's eyes going blank for a moment at the mention of her name.

"I'm just going to give you fair warning, Eagor," Falco said, struggling to remain calm. "Whatever was between myself and Tawnya is long in the past. But you try to use her to get to me, I will hunt you down and end you."

"Then I guess you better get down to Skylark then," Eagor answered, malice in his voice. "Because that's what I intend to do. Don't keep me waiting too long, Peregrine. Otherwise anything could happen. Particularly when one has the element of surprise over a target that doesn't know you are coming..."

The line went dead, Payne and Golde still looking at Falco. The Commandant rubbed his face with his hands, before taking a deep breath.

"Time to mobilise!" exclaimed the Mirror Ranger. "Techno 9, tell the rangers if they're not in the shuttle in five minutes, I'm going without them."

"Excellent, I get to boss them around," the AI answered. "I love doing that."

"You ever think we made an awful mistake by giving that machine a personality?" Payne wondered. "Because, it sometimes does grate on you."

* * *

"So, this is Skylark," Diana remarked, as the six rangers walked into the small district. In front of them, they could see about ten large homes on each side of the road, each home having a decent sized lawn in front of it. "Nice place. Well, you know, compared to the rest of the moon."

"Don't insult the Airspace Moon," Falco ordered. "Not unless it's something constructive."

"I wasn't insulting it, I was making a comparison," the yellow ranger argued. "It's just... So ordinary compared to the rest of the place."

"It looks like a typical suburban district on Earth," Nick said. "I mean, you'd expect to see this on Earth. Not a few thousand miles from Aerobis."

"This is a special place," Falco replied. "When the AFS was broken up to be integrated into a part of Cosmo Force, those serving in it were given a choice. They could go onto have roles in Cosmo Force, that being what I did, or they could retire. These places were especially set aside for those who had retired from service, so the authorities couldn't be accused of neglecting those that had served the planet."

"Isn't there an overcrowding issue?" Max wondered. "I mean, is there really the space or the funding to do this?"

"Now that you can go planet to planet with relative ease, I don't imagine that the citizen congestion is too much of an issue," said Sandy. "Plus, on the other hand, I can't imagine too many non-Aerobians flocking to the cities on here if there anything like the one we visited earlier."

"What was wrong with that city?" Falco wondered. "It's a great city. Nothing wrong with it at all."

"You forgot to mention that it's hard to get around unless you have wings," Lily muttered, dryly. "So, how do you want to do this, Sir? Want us to go door to door until we find either Tawnya or Eagor?"

"I know where Tawnya is," Falco answered. "I'll go talk to her, the rest of you can go and look for Eagor."

"Sir, can I ask a question?" said Nick. "If this is a premature retirement community for the AFS, then why are we here to help? I mean, if Tawnya lives here, then surely she can look after herself if the worst came to the worst."

"That has occurred to me, Cadet Miele," Falco replied. "Yet, she doesn't know he is coming. And, given the way our last conversation went, I doubt she'd talk to me over the communication channel."

"Want me to talk to her, Sir?" Sandy asked. "I mean, if it's going to be like that."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Cadet Garcia," the Mirror Ranger answered. "However, I would rather do it myself."

* * *

"What do you want?"

That had been more civil than he had expected, seeing Tawnya answer the door to him. Like him, she was in her Pidgeot stage of life. She also had dirty gold coloured feathers, and wore a pair of faded jeans and a long pink T-shirt. The main colour of her crest was a radiant sky blue which was now flecked with a light trace of gray. Her wings were slightly smaller than his, but still a touch larger than those on most female Aerobians.

"Good evening to you too," Falco answered, giving her a smile. "How've you been, Tawnya?"

"Not too bad," replied the female Aerobian. "I can't complain. What about you?"

"I've been fine," Falco said. "Everything's been decent."

"Well, good for you," Tawnya answered, moving to close the door. "Now you've told me that, then..."

"Wait!" he exclaimed, moving to block her from shutting him out. "Look, I'm not here to gloat about anything. I'm not trying to make you feel worse or anything, I just wanted to give you a warning about something."

"Oh really? Is it about old acquaintances who show up when you don't want them to?"

"Actually, it's about Eagor," Falco said. "Earlier today, I encountered him. You see those cadets wandering around? He attacked them, I stepped in to stop him from killing them. It didn't go so well for him. Anyway, he had the frinkrors to call my ship not too long ago and taunt me, hinting that he was coming for you to try and get to me."

"You couldn't have called and told me that?"

"Would you have answered?"

"Suppose you have a fair point," she admitted. "Well, if he shows up here, I still keep a nine strike disperser close at hand. Should cause him to think twice."

* * *

Across the street, Eagor let out a quiet laugh as he kept the crosshair of his rifle trained on Falco's back. Just as he had thought he might, Peregrine had walked straight into the trap, straight in front of his rifle. All it would take now was one quick pull and one sixth of his problems would be out of the way. The occupants of the house had been taken care of with relative ease, a pair of Oblivings creeping in to take them by surprise. They were currently tied up downstairs, meaning they couldn't interfere.

"Farewell, Peregrine," he said, softly. "This should have happened to you all those years ago. But, you only delayed the inevitable."

Maybe he would take out Tawnya as well if he was lucky with his shot, he thought, tightening his finger towards the trigger...

... Only to see a flash of movement in his peripheral vision, before someone kicked the rifle from his hand. In his concentration, he had failed to notice them arriving, had even failed to hear them. Rounding on the new arrival, the first thing he saw was Max kick him in the face, the blow staggering him.

"Knew you'd be here somewhere!" the red ranger yelled, going in for a second attack, one which Eagor blocked. "Time for some payback!"

Setting his fists on fire, Max hurled a pair of uppercuts at the Aerobian, both blows landing to leave burns on Eagor's body. Howling in pain, Eagor let the Obliving in him show, the shadows covering his eyes.

"You'll pay for that," he growled, throwing a roundhouse kick at the red ranger.

* * *

"Good to see that everything's been okay then," Falco said, turning to leave. "I'll not take up any more of your time, thanks for seeing me."

For just a moment, her hard expression faded, giving him a glimpse of the old Tawnya once again.

"It was nice to see you, Peregrine," she replied. "And, I'm touched that you came down here to let me know Eagor might come after me."

"Tawnya..." said Falco. "It's not a..."

Behind them, one of the upper level windows came crashing through, one of his cadets falling through it to come to a crash landing on the grass below him.

"... That sounds like my cue," he said, spreading his wings to take to the air. Soaring up, he covered the distance between Tawnya's home and the one over the road in a single bound, offering Max a hand up as he landed. "Cadet Redwood, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Max groaned, struggling up. "He just got a lucky shot in. He's up there, Sir."

His warning was in vain as Eagor sprang down from the upper window and kicked Falco in the face, sending the Commandant staggering back.

"Ready to finish this, Peregrine?" he demanded, going in for another attack. The strike from his wings met Falco in the upper body and knocked him to the ground, forcing out a grunt of pain from him.

Behind him, Max had gotten to his feet and was going for his Cosmo Blaster. Rather than give him time to get it up, Eagor hit him with another roundhouse kick that threw him through the first floor window of the building he had just been kicked out of. All around the neighbourhood, the other four rangers were running towards them, all eager to get into the fight.

"This is slowly going to start to look unfair," Eagor taunted, clapping his hands together. "How about some company."

At his actions, a group of Oblivings rose up out of the shadows, moving to engage the other rangers. Some of them even went to confront Max in the living room of the building where he had been tossed by Eagor's attack.

"Just you and me now, old friend," laughed Eagor, as he looked at Falco, the black shadow covering his eyes. "Shall we finish what was started all those years ago?"

Not showing any emotion, Falco brought up his morpher.

"Cosmosis!"

* * *

"Aww, man!" Nick yelled, kicking one of the Oblivings away from him. "Not more of these. Guess this confirms beyond all doubt who he works for."

"Yeah?" Diana asked, pirouetting on the spot to elbow another in the face, before stamping on its knee and tossing it to the ground. "Who's that again?"

"Well, we don't know yet, do we?" answered Nick, punching an Obliving in the face. "I wasn't actually referring to him by name, more as the title of Big Elusive Obliving Mystery Leader Guy."

"Not catchy, is it?"

"Nope."

* * *

At the same time, Lily and Sandy had the same problem, the Oblivings surrounding them quickly. The two rangers looked at each other, before breaking away in opposite directions to take them down. Lily brought up her Cosmo Baton and beat one around the head twice to take it down, then moving to kick another in the face. On the other side of the street, Sandy grabbed one by the shoulders, before twisting it down to the ground and kicking it in the head. Her hand snapped down to her side, bringing her Cosmo Blaster up. After a rapid flurry of shots, more of the Oblivings were defeated by her shots, the blue ranger spun to take another shadow creature out with a punch.

* * *

Giving out a battle cry, the Mirror Ranger hurled himself at Eagor, moving into an aerial kick. Managing to block it, Eagor punched him in the chest and knocked him back with a strike from his wings. Barely flinching, Falco struck out with his own wings and managed to slam Eagor back against the wall of the building. Groaning as he cracked the bricks behind him, Eagor managed to flare out his wings and leap up onto the roof high above the Mirror Ranger. Not hesitating, Falco went up after him, throwing a punch at him which Eagor blocked. As the possessed Aerobian moved to launch a kick, his talons flashed through the air, Falco barely managing to dodge the blow. His own leg came up and hit Eagor with a powerful snap kick to the side of his body, forcing him back. Again, the Mirror Ranger went in for an attack, only for Eagor to soar up above his blow and land on the road below them.

* * *

With the Oblivings heading for him, Max didn't have much chance to react. Having got to his feet, the red ranger instinctively reacted to their presence by letting flames spring up across his body. His teeth gritted, he went to throw a fiery punch at the closest one, his fist crashing straight through it. Then, he went to kick another one down, eventually moving to take care of the final one with a powerful flaming head butt that knocked it off its feet and forced it to disperse on the ground. With them out of the way, he paused to rub his throat, looking out to see Falco and Eagor still going at it in the street. He could see that Eagor had swept out his wings in a threatening fashion to send an Air Slash at the Mirror Ranger...

* * *

As the sharp slash of wind raced through the air towards him, Falco held out his arm to try and block it, knowing that it was probably a stupid idea to try.

That was when it appeared in his grip, a silver coloured riot shield shaped like a Pidgeot's wing. Looking at it, he saw that the front of it was highly polished, almost resembling a mirror. As he brought it up in front of him, he managed to block Eagor's attack, the Mirror Wing glowing slightly as the attack was absorbed into it. Pushing the weapon forward, Falco sent an almost identical Air Slash back at Eagor, the harsh cut knocking him off his feet.

"Ouch!" he screamed, sitting up as he let out the complaint. "That was a cheap shot, Peregrine!"

Slowly getting up to his feet, Eagor was aware that the Mirror Ranger now had his Mirror Blaster in hand, the weapon trained on him.

"Farewell, Eagor," Falco said. "Time for you to answer for your crimes. Mirror Blaster! Full power!"

Simultaneously pulling the trigger and giving the command, several bursts of silver energy ripped through the air, the shots overwhelming Eagor. As he let out several howls of pain at the blasts, he dropped to his knees in agony.

"Alright!" Max exclaimed, as he and the other rangers came over to congratulate the Mirror Ranger. "You did it, Sir!"

"You might have won this round, Peregrine!" Eagor howled, managing to get to his feet again. "But, believe me, the best is yet to come!"

"Anyone else have a sneaky suspicion what's coming?" Nick wondered, as streams of black energy began to erupt from Eagor's body.

"The dark tendrils of Oblivion are expanding!" the rogue Aerobian yelled, the energy covering his entire body. Within moments, he began to grow to a giant size.

"You had to open up your mouth, didn't you?" said an angry Lily as she glared at Nick. "Now what?"

"I'd wager that our Cosmo Zords are still out of action from the last battle," Max said. "Which means that he's got the upper hand."

"Actually, he hasn't!"

Hearing the voice in their helmets, the six rangers looked to the sky to see the Night Hawk hovering down onto the scene, Golde's voice coming through loud and clear.

"Wanting to relay a message to you from Doctor Katongo, Sir," he said, directing it at Falco. "He says that the morph drive went in without a hitch."

"That crazy Psorian installed a morph drive on the Night Hawk?" Sandy asked. "I just know my stuff's going to get destroyed before the day is out."

"Might want to jump on board, Sir," Golde continued. "Then you can really give this joker what for."

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" Falco exclaimed, already jumping into the air. The teleportation beam caught him, transporting him into the already vacated cockpit of the Night Hawk.

"Go on, Sir!" Diana shouted. "Beat him to a pulp!"

* * *

"Activating morph drive!" Falco shouted, hitting several buttons to start the transformation sequence. "Mirror Hawk Megazord!"

Responding to the command, the Night Hawk transformed into a mechanical Pidgeot. Soaring through the air, the Pidgeot began to change, the face moving forward to balance on the body, revealing a new humanoid face ahead of the Pidgeot crest. The legs moved down to the rear of the figure, combining with the tail feathers to create legs. The wings stayed where they were, while a pair of arms emerged from the body, the talons from the feet moving up to attach to the end of the hands. The transformation complete, the Mirror Hawk Megazord landed on the ground.

"That's not going to save you this time, Peregrine!" Eagor howled. "I'll rip you and your ship to pieces."

"You're welcome to try," Falco replied, settling into his seat. "Come on, Eagor. Make my day!"

A roar erupted from the rogue Aerobian as he went for the Mirror Hawk Megazord, moving to punch the machine several times. None of the blows seriously fazed the Mirror Hawk Megazord, who Falco quickly directed into striking back.

"Let's see what this can do!" the Mirror Ranger bellowed. "Air Slash!"

The Megazord responding to his command, the talons on the hands slashed out, dealing damage to Eagor. Huge cuts sprang up across the possessed Aerobian's body, causing him to howl out in pain. In his anger, he sprang at the Mirror Hawk Megazord and tried to knock it to the ground. In response, the robot spread out its wings and rose up into the sky out of the way. Angry at the way that he had moved to escape, Eagor made to go after him into the air. As he moved in close to the Mirror Hawk Megazord, Falco let out a laugh.

"Bad move, Eagor!" said the Mirror Ranger. "Wing Attack."

The robot spinning around, both combatants saw the powerful mechanical wings flash out back and forth, repeatedly striking Eagor in the body. Badly hurt by the blows, Eagor was sent back down to the ground, crashing onto his back in pain.

"Your time is up, Eagor," Falco said, his Megazord still hovering. As he pushed a button in front of him, the Mirror Hawk Megazord began to glow with a silver light. "Sky Attack!"

Spreading its wings out as far as they would go, the Mirror Hawk Megazord began to streak down through the air, powerfully smashing into Eagor who was instantly decimated by the blast. As the smoke cleared, it having rose up from the explosion. Inside the cockpit of the Megazord, the Mirror Ranger caught the card that Eagor had been contained in, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're not going to hurt anyone else, Eagor," he said, putting the card down. "Not now it's over."

* * *

"So, that's what you do now," Tawnya remarked, smiling as she said it. "You're a beacon of galactic peace. You're one of these Poké Rangers that we've been hearing about."

"No, actually, my cadets are," Falco answered. "I'm... Well, I only took up the morpher to take on Eagor."

"What about now that he's away in Acathria?" asked Tawnya. "You still going to do it? Or hand the power onto someone else? If you can do that, I don't know if you can or not."

"Might as well stick it out until it's over," said Falco. "Never know, as the Mirror Ranger I might be able to do more good than stood around on the Night Hawk giving orders."

"Plus, you get to do what you do best," she said, sarcastically. "Hit things and fly."

"That's a bit unfair, isn't it?" he asked, softly. "Our time together... It wasn't that awful."

"No, you're right," Tawnya replied. "It wasn't. It had its moments."

"You know what today is, don't you?" Falco asked, his voice emotionless. "Six years since it happened."

"I haven't forgotten," said Tawnya, angrily. "I miss her too, you know."

"Never said that you didn't," he retorted. "Just saying that I'm going to the cemetery before I leave the moon."

"I already went," Tawnya said. "First thing this morning. Didn't think you would be here, surprised that you are."

"Just because I couldn't make it last year... I was stationed thirteen galaxies away for the five hundredth time!"

* * *

This had been the source of the argument the last time he and Tawnya had met. A year ago, he had been sent to Regon on an important mission for Cosmo Force, unable to get out of it on compassionate grounds. It had been a month late by the time he had finally managed to get here. Walking through the row of graves, he remembered the sense of relief he had felt eleven months ago about being able to finally get here eventually.

He was carrying a bunch of flowers in his hand, the Mirror Ranger spying the grave in question up ahead. There was already some flowers and a wreath there, no doubt courtesy of Tawnya. As he stepped in front of the small stone, he felt the smallest trickle of a tear threaten to run down his cheek. His gaze fell down to the inscription atop the stone, feeling the same way he did whenever he read it. Deep burning sorrow.

Ferena Griote. 5072 - 5085

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**And that's a wrap.**

**Look at that. Apparently there is something Falco isn't telling everyone. Well, he did have a back story. One that's only just becoming apparent.**

**Not thanking anyone for reviews, since there weren't any.**

**But yeah, hope that you enjoyed this. Also, new credits.**

**Seriously though, think about it. The course of this takes place over several hours after the first part, meaning that there was no way the Zords would be repaired that amount of time.**

**Next one is titled Warning. Preview is below.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Sixteen, Warning, preview.**

**Max: So, what's this all about then?**

**Falco: A sparring session to get the blood running.**

**Samedi: Get me that map!**

**?: The map will be gotten for you.**

**Max: It's you again!**

**Sandy: We need backup right now.**

**Golde: Mirror Ranger tells me to tell you that he's not coming.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	16. Warning

Chapter Sixteen. Warning.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_Falco morphed into the Mirror Ranger and battled Eagor, managing to come to a premature victory after shooting his opponent's hand off. Going back to the Night Hawk, the rangers thanked Falco who revealed his past with Eagor and a female Aerobian named Tawnya. At the same time, Eagor went to heal his wounds while being threatened by Samedi. He went after Tawnya, forcing the six rangers to go on and try to stop him. Falco defeated Eagor, only for the possessed Aerobian to grow to a giant size. The Mirror Ranger summoned the Night Hawk, transforming it in the Mirror Hawk Megazord. After he won, Falco tried to reconcile with Tawnya, only to end up going alone to his daughter's grave..._

_

* * *

_

"Anyone else think that Falco looked a bit down when he came in last night?" wondered Max, the five cadets sat in the mess hall. "Have to wonder what he was up to down there after we came back."

"Maybe he reconciled with Tawnya," Diana suggested. "They can't stay that mad at each other for that long, can they?"

"Who knows," said Sandy, the blue ranger flicking through a holo pad to check the news. "You know, the galactic media never ceases to amaze me."

"Why's that?" Lily wondered. "You just carry on Sandy, it's not like we're having a discussion about our team or anything while you're messing about there with..."

"I'm saying that there were a whole bunch of bombings on the Airspace Moon, a new ranger appears and those morons are more concerned with it being Sabli Romerenko's daughter's birthday."

"Really?" Diana asked, suddenly looking interested. "Is it true that Blue Mist played there?"

"Blue Mist?" Nick said, scornfully. "All that money and he can't get a better band than them."

"They've released some decent songs," Diana pointed out. "Sand in the Storm, Burning Ball of Lead..."

"That's all though, isn't it," snickered Max. "The lead singer is hot, but she can't sing. None of them can, it's like listening to a tone deaf bunch of Felaine howling at a moon."

That was when they saw Falco come into the mess hall, a serious look on his face as he glanced to them.

"Rangers!" barked the Mirror Ranger. "To the combat arena! Now!"

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"So, what's this all about then?" Max wondered, the six of them moving into position in the combat arena.

"A sparring session to get the blood running," answered Falco, bringing out his morpher. "I'm giving each of you a direct order not to hold back. Give this everything you've got, because I won't be holding back against any of you."

"That's nice to know, isn't it?" said Lily, sarcastically. "What's the nature of this exercise, Sir?"

"No point, Cadet Yushaa," answered the Mirror Ranger. "Just purely for the point of training. I want to bring the lot of you up to speed after your struggles against the last opponent."  
With that, he brought up his morpher, slamming his fists together with more vigour than usual to activate it.

"Cosmosis!"

As the Aerobian transformed into his ranger suit, the other five rangers looked at each other for a few moments, before bringing their own morphers up.

"Cosmosis!"

"Take your battle positions!" Falco barked, watching them complete their transformation into their suits. "And prepare to fight."

"Anyone else feel like this is going to be really, really painful?" Nick asked, the green ranger flexing his muscles. "Because..."

Before he could finish, Falco swept out a fist and slammed the blow into his stomach, the attack knocking him off his feet. As Nick hit the ground, the other four rangers brought out their Cosmo Batons and went for him. The Mirror Ranger blocked the first blow, from Sandy, with his arm, before kicking her down to the floor. Both Lily and Diana attacked next, Falco blocking their attacks with his Mirror Wing, their weapons crashing against the silver shield. As their attacks landed, the shield began to give off a faint shine, before Falco crashed it against the two of them to reflect their blows back at them. As they went down under the powerful impact, Max leaped up above them, his fists in flame.

"Fire Punch!"

Again, Falco blocked the fiery strikes with his Mirror Wing, bringing up a boot to kick Max away from him. Then, turning to thrust his shield out, he slammed the weapon into Nick's stomach, hitting him with the absorbed fire type energy to send the green ranger down to the floor. Lily tried another attack with her Shadow Claws, the attack caught on the Mirror Wing and reflected back at her before she could even try to dodge.

Behind the Mirror Ranger, Diana tried to leap on him and force him into submission, only for Falco to take flight and evade her attack, kicking her into Max who had recovered. As the two rangers went down, he flung out the Mirror Wing like a boomerang and hit Sandy several times with the blow, the repeated hits knocking her off her feet.

That was when he landed, catching the weapon in his hand again before looking down at the five defeated rangers with bemusement.

"Come on!" he barked. "You're better than this, aren't you?"

* * *

"Mrek!" Lily complained, rubbing at the back of her neck. "He doesn't hold back when he's fighting, does he?"

"Suppose that we should just be grateful that he's on our side," Max said, the red ranger leaning back in his chair. "I'm starting to think that the Mirror Ranger is going to be a great ally in battle. If nothing else, it takes pressure off the rest of us to stay in tip top condition."

"What, because we can just rely on him?" Sandy asked. "I really don't think that's a good thing. You rely on someone so much, they'll eventually let you down. That's the way of life."

"Hmm..." Nick said, softly. "Sandy, is the glass half full or half empty for you?"

"Who cares about some outdated metaphor," the blue ranger retorted. "I'm just saying that..."

"Come on, Sandy," said Diana. "Let your hair down for once. I think we're good to relax given what we've been through lately. Now we've got some help, might as well cut loose for a bit."

"Suppose we have been working pretty hard lately," she remarked. "Ah, what the mrek. Let's get it on."

* * *

"Mr. Gaschet."

Looking across at the figure masked in the shadows, Rohan Gaschet unconsciously took a step back in worry, something about Samedi's gaze unsettling him.

"What can I do for you, Sir?" he asked, bowing to the figure. "You summoned me to your side."

"That is correct," replied the shadow covered figure. "Mr. Gaschet, how have you found your settling in period into my activities. Everything to your satisfaction?"

"You know what, it really is."

"Good," Samedi said. "Now that I've given you a role, a home, food and clothes, I expect you to do something for me in return. Well, that's only fair, isn't it?"

"Oh, I suppose so," said Rohan. "You tell me what it is that you want me to do and I'll do everything in my power to complete that task for you."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Samedi answered. "Now, your Obliving may or may not have let it slip to you that its main form is locked away in a dimension which can't easily be breached."

"I believe that I may have heard something like that," said Rohan. "What about it?"

"The Obli-King, that is to say, Oblivion, is locked away in this dimension," said Samedi. "Now, I have put a lot of effort into finding about this dimension and I believe that I have found the way to unlock it."

"Well, that's good!" Rohan exclaimed. "What is it you want me to do? Go and free Oblivion from his prison?"

"It's nice of you to offer, but I rather have an alternative task for you to go through with," replied the figure in the shadows. "I don't actually know how to do it, only that the way for it to be done is inscribed on an ancient map, a map that then shows the location of where it needs to be done."

"I see," said Rohan. "Now, what actually is it you want me to do?"

"Get me that map!" Samedi snapped, losing patience. "I'm not in the mood for waiting around for it."

"The map will be gotten for you," Rohan answered, bowing and backing away at the same time. "I'll get right on it. Any idea where it is?"

"A ship is waiting for you to take you to Challec," the shadow figure said. "I expect you to complete this task. We've been having some problems lately and so..."

"I already told you that you can count on me," said Rohan, confidently. "I'm not about to fail you."

"Because of my worries about this, I'm even going to give you a pair of Salemenk bodyguards for this mission," Samedi said, pushing a button on his desk. He hadn't heard a word of what Rohan had just said. "They'll meet you downstairs."

"Ermm... okay then."

* * *

"You're not going to believe this, Sir," Golde said, hearing the heavy footsteps of Falco walking into the cockpit. "We've just got a hit on a wanted fugitive."

"Really?" asked the Aerobian. "Who and where?"

"Rigel Trarn," Payne reported. "Salamenk mercenary. Wanted on several planets for numerous acts of murder, intimidation, theft, arson, rape... Not a pleasant guy by the sounds of it."

"Where was he seen?"

"He was seen boarding a ship headed to Challec," replied Golde. "Before anyone could detail the ship, it managed to escape. We're close to Challec, we could get there inside a day."

"A Salamenk is a tough foe," Falco mused. "An interesting thought. Set a course for there, right now. See if you can get the number of the that ship as well."

"At once, Sir."

"What's on your mind, Peregrine?" asked Payne, seeing the pensive look on the Aerobian's face. "Something troubling you?"

"Nah, just working on a train of thought," Falco said. "I want you to radio ahead and give the order to let Rigel's ship land. I want him and whoever else is on it to land on Challec and get through customs without any trouble. I also want Techno 9 to try and track him down through the planets internal security system, see where it is that he goes. We'll send the rangers after him then."

"You're not going with them, Sir?" Golde wondered. "Because that seems a little strange."

"As five plain clothes cadets, they will attract less suspicion than if an Aerobian was walking around with them," Techno 9 offered. "It is just purely for that reason, is it not, Mr. Griote?"

"Exactly," Falco answered. "I'm not going with them."

* * *

"Ah, he's here!" Nick said, jumping up from his seat as Falco walked into the room. "What's going on, Sir? You want to go another few rounds with us?"

"No, Cadet Miele," relied the Aerobian. "There's an assignment coming up for you on Challec. You're required to go and arrest a Salamenk, a particularly nasty piece of work I might add."

"Salamenk?" Lily asked. "Are those guys ever anything but nasty?"

"I'm sure there are some that aren't somewhere," remarked Sandy. "What's the plan for that, Sir?"

"When they get on planet, Techno 9 is going to track them using the internal security surveillance system," Falco said. "Then, you'll go down to apprehend him and any accomplices he may have."

"You know, there's something that I can't help but notice here," Diana remarked. "You keep saying that you as in us are going. Not we as in me as well."

"You don't need me to hold your hands while you get something done now, do you?" Falco snapped. "Or is this too tricky for you to comprehend?"

"No, no," Max said, giving Diana an annoyed look. "We can do this, Sir. It's not like we're incapable. If you've not coming with us, then that's fine."

"If you truly need my help though, I will be there," said Falco. "Trust me, Cadets. Now, it's time for you to get going."

"Anyone else think he's trying to be too mysterious?" Nick wondered, watching the Commandant turn to leave the room. "But, whatever it may be, he's good at it."

* * *

"Ah, I've missed Challec," Max said, stepping out of the space port to take a deep inhale of the air outside. They had found themselves docked in one of the many cities on the planet, one that the red ranger was apparently familiar with. "Anyone else ever been here before?"

"Once," muttered Lily. "Didn't like it. Some crazy trader wanted to buy my fur."

"What?" Nick asked, giving the black ranger a surprised look. "Did I just hear you right? For a moment I thought you said that someone wanted to buy your fur. I take it you weren't wearing a fur coat of some sort that day, and..."

"Nope, wanted to make a fur coat," Lily answered. "Here endeth the story."

"You can't leave us hanging like that," Diana said. "I mean, what happened. You just walk away from him, having turned the other cheek to what I imagine is quite an insulting request. Because I can't believe that you did that for a second."

"You don't hesitate to rush to the worst conclusion about me, do you?" snapped Lily. "Honestly."

"So, what happened then?"

"Okay, I kicked him through a window, but I still have a point about the way you jump to conclusions about me."

"Never mind about that," Max said. "As entertaining as the discussion is, we need to find the location that Techno 9 saw this guy going to. Sandy, can you please update us on where we need to go?"  
"That way," the blue ranger said, gesturing listlessly ahead of them. "I'm almost certain of it."

* * *

"Where is it!"

Roaring out the question, Rohan watched as one of the Salamenks twisted the owner of the warehouse upside down, all of his personal effects falling from the ill fitting suit he wore. As they cluttered the floor below him, the other Salamenk began to crush them beneath his feet.

"Unless you answer his question, that'll be your head," he warned. "We have no quarrel with you personally, we just want something that you've got!"

The owner of the warehouse was a Boarf, a Poké Alien that resembled an Emboar. Despite his size and stature, the two Salamenks had no hesitation in manhandling him, neither of them intimidated in the slightest.

"I don't know what it is that you're looking for," he protested, the words falling out of his mouth. "If you tell me, then I can help you. Scratch that, I will help you."

"Well..." Rohan said. "I'm not sure exactly. It's a map. Or something resembling a map."

"If you put me down," the Boarf replied, managing to regain some composure despite the fact he was being held upside down. "Then I'll go look for it. I think I know what it is that you're after. A map, right? We have plenty of maps here, but..."

"Put him down," Rohan ordered, narrowing his eyes at the two Salamenks. "But stick with him when he goes. If he makes a run for it..."

He let the semi-threat hang, before seeing the Boarf glare at him. The Raxel ignored it as the two Salamenks dropped their prisoner to the ground, the soft groan coming out as he picked himself up. Even as he went away to find the map, the two Salamenks followed him on his way.

"This map better be worth the effort," he muttered. "Because, otherwise..."

* * *

It took ten minutes for the three of them to return, the annoyed Boarf carrying a crate. He dropped it to the ground in front of Rohan, moving to give the Raxel a dirty look.

"Satisfied?" he demanded. "There you go."

Rather than take his word for it, Rohan leaned down to pull the cover of the crate back. Reaching inside, he brought out a map from within, holding it up to the light. It was then that he saw it was a star chart, yet not written in any language that he recognised. In one corner of the worn material, there was another passage of writing in the same language, confirming beyond any doubt that he didn't know what it said.

"What language is this?" he demanded. "You better not be pulling a fast one on us."

"I don't know what language it is," the warehouse owner replied. "I just stored it here. Although, that's not technically true, that particular item came in long before I worked here."

"If you didn't work here when it came in, how did you know that?" one of the Salamenk's asked, pointedly. "Because..."

"In order to find it, I had to look at the records, okay?" the Boarf demanded. "It was brought in over three hundred years ago. Believe it or not, before we moved to this property here, we used to have a storage ship. With the price of fuel and all that, we had to give it up though, didn't we? This was one of the things that my grandfather brought down from that ship and stored here."  
"What was the name of whoever brought it in?" Rohan wondered, a thought suddenly striking him. "Come on, you can tell us."

"Actually, that's confidential..."

One of the Salamenk's hit him, knocking the Boarf to his knees.

"It was someone going under the name of Anick Onyma Ousta," answered the Boarf. "Feel free to check."

"Anick Onyma Ousta?" Rohan asked. "Do I look stupid? That's not a name, that's a way of saying anonymous to make it sound like a name."

"Give that guy a brain. That makes a change from the normal criminals we go up against!"

* * *

Looking around, Rohan saw that five familiar cadets had come into the warehouse. One of them more familiar than the other four, the feeling apparently mutual as he was recognised.

"It's you again!" Max exclaimed, seeing him. "Where've you wriggled out from, Rohan?"

"Ah, Max," the Raxel laughed. "Long time no see."

Spreading out his arms, he gestured to the two Salamenks stood flanking him. They were both humanoid Salamence-like Poké Aliens. The one on the left had black scales and silver wings, while the one on the right had red scales and blue wings. Both of them were wearing suits, but their powerful tails could be seen behind them, while powerful clawed hands were visible out of their sleeves.

"May I introduce Rigel Trarn," he said, pointing to the Salamenk on the left. "And Tayern Sagenko. These are my bodyguards if you please. You want to try and arrest me, then you're going to have to get through them. Just giving you a warning."

"Then I guess we're going to have to do that then!" Lily exclaimed. "Come on then!"

"You always did move with impatient company," Rohan said, directing the insult at Max. "I'd really look at that character flaw about yourself."

"You used to work with me," shot back the red ranger. "What does that make you?"

"He got you there," Nick said, shrugging. "So... What now?"

"I'll get Raxel-boy over there," Max answered. "You guys take down the bodyguards."

"Oh yeah, let's do it!" Diana exclaimed. "Time to battle."

"Cosmosis!"

Bringing their morphers up, the five of them transformed into their ranger suits. Seeing them do so, Rohan let out a sigh.

"Get them," he said, folding his arms. "Now!"

* * *

As the two Salamenks charged at them, the five rangers went into action. Max managed to break past them and go for Rohan, only for Tayern to turn faster than he could have anticipated and grab him by the shoulder, tossing him against a wall. The red ranger let out a groan of agony as he fell to the ground, his problems not helped by Rohan moving towards him.

"This'll be a shock for you," the Raxel crowed, blasting him with electricity. Down on the ground, Max screamed in pain.

Behind the two of them, the other rangers had split up into two groups, each facing one of the Salamenks. Lily and Diana were battling Rigel, while Nick and Sandy were focused on their bout with Tayern.

Picking himself up, Max threw a kick at Rohan, the Raxel managing to block his blow. Momentarily frustrated by that, the red ranger attacked again to throw a punch at him, his blow landing this time. Following that up, he struck again before Rohan blasted him back with a Shock Wave.

Away from those two, Lily hit out with her Cosmo Baton, trying to take Rigel down. Reaching up, he blocked her blow with his arm before striking out with his wings, the attack throwing her to the ground. Behind him, Diana tried the same with her own Cosmo Baton, yet he managed to survive her assault on him, blocking her blows as he had done to Lily's. He kicked out and managed to propel the yellow ranger up into the air, grabbing her by the arm to send her crashing towards Lily.

The two rangers hit each other, momentarily stunned by the impact before they both regained some composure and went back into the battle. Apparently not concerned by being outnumbered, Rigel opened his mouth and blasted the two of them with a Dragon Breath, his attack sending the both of them down. Pained by the blow but not defeated, Lily tried to get back up, only for Rigel to kick her in the head and keep her down.

Meanwhile, Nick and Sandy weren't faring much better. The green ranger brought out his Cosmo Blaster and fired at the Salamenk who promptly blocked it with his wings, the blast not hurting him at all. While he was preoccupied by that, Sandy tried to take him from behind, running to throw a jump kick at him. Tayern ducked underneath her, watching as she sailed above him, before hitting her in the stomach with a Dragon Claw. The Blue Ranger let out a howl as she crashed to the ground, rolling several feet before coming to a halt against the wall. Angered, Nick strode forward, a pair of blades made from a pure green energy erupting out from his wrists.

"You'll pay for that! Leaf Blade!"

He jumped into the air, intent on bringing the attack down on Tayern. Yet, rather than be worried by the oncoming green ranger, the Salamenk stepped aside, watching Nick's attack slam into the ground. Realising what had happened, the green ranger looked up, only the giant foot to come up and hit him in the face.

* * *

That was when they tried to regroup, the four rangers moving back together. In a matter of seconds, Max returned to the scene, a powerful electric blast from Rohan sending him flying through the air to them.

"Man, these two are tough," Diana complained. "Anyone else think that we could do with some help?"

"That's not sounding like a bad idea," Nick said. "Where is he anyway?"

"You're all alone," Rohan suddenly taunted. "Nobody's coming to help you, it's just you and us."

"That's what you think!" Lily exclaimed. "None of you have met the Mirror Ranger yet. He'll help us sort you all out."

"I'm really scared now," Tayern snickered. "They're summoning reinforcements to get rid of us. Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"

"Tayern, shall we show them what we think of their efforts to summon some help?" asked Rigel, the other Salamenk nodding in response as they both opened their mouths to attack.

"Uh oh..." Max said. "Not good..."

"Hyper Beam!" both Salamenks roared, unleashing the twin blasts of orange energy towards the five rangers, the powerful blasts completely taking them out. The attack ripped through their defences, sending them crashing to the ground in defeat. Their ranger suits vanished to the sounds of Rohan's laughter.

"Great job, guys," he said, patting both Salamenks on the shoulder. "That's taken care of a real problem. Now, let's go."

"Shouldn't we finish them off?" Tayern wondered. "Otherwise, they could come after us and spoil everything."

Rohan visibly snorted at that idea, turning away towards the exit.

"Our objective is to get this back to Mr. Samedi," he pointed out. "Not kill Poké Rangers. Besides, on that note, do you really want to bring down the full wrath of Cosmo Force down on us for doing away with them? That'll attract all sorts of unwanted attention for the organization."

"Suppose so," said Rigel, looking disappointed by the decision. "Come on, let's get out of here."

With that, the three of them turned to leave, the rangers still down on the ground defeated. As the sound of the door closing rang out somewhere around them, Max spoke up.

"That didn't go so well," he muttered. "Can't believe that Rohan just stopped us from being killed by a pair of Salamenks. How humiliating."

Next to him, Sandy was trying to contact the Night Hawk, not wanting the three to get away. Nick had managed to sit up, and was trying to help up both Lily and Diana.

"And what were they even here for, anyway?" wondered the red ranger. "Something stinks about all of this."  
"We need backup right now," Sandy said, speaking into her helmet, while ignoring Max. "Tell the Mirror Ranger to come on down."

* * *

Looking around in the cockpit, Golde saw an impassive Falco stood watching the battle, arms folded.

"You heard them, Sir," the younger Aerobian pointed out. "They're in trouble."

He was slightly surprised by the lack of reaction from the Mirror Ranger, Falco's only movement being that to go and scratch a feather on his elbow.

"Sir! They're in trouble!"

"I heard you, Featherclaw!" Falco snapped. "I didn't answer you for a reason. You want to give them an answer, then you tell them I'm not coming."

"Sir, are you completely sure that's the wisest way to go about things?"

"Are you questioning me?" demanded the older Aerobian. "Because the last time I checked, this was my ship. I give the orders, I make the decisions. Tell them what you want, but make sure they know I expect them to sort this out themselves."

"Sir, what do you mean by that?"

"They largely brought this problem upon themselves," snapped Falco. "They're going to have to pull themselves out of it."

With that, he turned to storm out of the cockpit, leaving the pilot alone. In a matter of moments, he was back on the communication line.

"Rangers..." he said. "There's something that you need to..."

"Is the Mirror Ranger on his way?" Lily yelled. "We need him badly."

"Hate to break it to you, but Mirror Ranger tells me to tell you that he's not coming," Golde said, softly. "He's telling you to sort your own problems out."

"What?" Max exclaimed. "What's Falco playing at?"

"He's not coming, guys," Golde repeated. "Sorry."

* * *

For a moment, the five beaten rangers lay there, unable to believe what they had just heard. Until Max finally spoke up, sitting up on the floor.

"Falco might have abandoned us," he said. "For whatever reason, I don't know. But I'm not going to abandon my duty. I'm going after those three and I'm going to stop them. We have to do it. Who's with me?"

"We're all with you," Diana said. "But, they beat us before... What makes you think that this time is going to be different?"

"Because we can't afford to lose again," Max replied, getting to his feet. In the next few seconds, the other rangers joined him. "Now, let's go get them!"

"Right!"

* * *

"That was surprisingly easy!" Rohan laughed, folding the map under his arm as the three Poké Aliens made their way down the street back towards the space port. "Can't believe that they capitulated like that... You guys are good. You know that."  
"We know," Rigel said, not paying the Raxel any real attention. "When you tell Samedi what happened, you better not leave our part in it out."

"Oh, I won't," said the Raxel. "You can count on that."

"Hey!"

The three of them heard the shout, before a flurry of laser fire rang out behind them, the blasts hitting the ground at their feet. Turning, they saw the five rangers stood there, Cosmo Blasters out.

"You ready for round two?" Max demanded. "Because the comeback is on!"

"I told you we should have finished them off before," Tayern grunted. "Don't wound what you can't kill. We're going to regret this!"

"With that attitude, you are," pointed out Rohan. "Come on, you've beaten them before..."

Before he could finish, Max fired his Cosmo Blaster again, his shot knocking the case containing the map out of his hand. As it hit the ground and bounced away, Rohan let out a yelp of fear, before turning to flee.

"What a brave individual," Rigel said, angrily. "You're going to regret coming after us!"

With that, the two of them sprang towards the rangers. Putting away their Cosmo Blasters, the five of them brought out their Cosmo Batons before splitting up to battle.

This time, Max joined in the fight with the Salamenks, the red ranger moving to battle Tayern along with Sandy and Nick. Jumping up, Max kicked Tayern in the stomach, before punching him in the face. The Salamenk let out a roar of pain, before unleashing a Dragon Claw attack to throw the red ranger back. Even as Max hit the ground, Sandy and Nick both hit out with their Cosmo Batons while he was distracted. Unlike before, the blows met home, Tayern giving off another howl of pain as he felt the impact of their hits. Then, Max jumped up and punched him several times in the face, before turning to go and help Lily and Diana out with Rigel.

As he arrived, Rigel had just kicked Diana down onto her back, and was currently holding Lily by the throat. His jaws inches from her throat, Max kicked him in the side, before grabbing him by the shoulders and tossing him away.

"It's not going to be like before!" Max shouted. "I promise you that!"

Back in the other battle, Sandy hit Tayern with a spin kick towards Nick, who then punched the Salamenk in the chest. The blue ranger then hit him in the back of the legs, forcing him down onto one knee at which point Nick slammed a knee into his face. Tayern spat up both teeth and blood, before Sandy crashed her Cosmo Baton against the back of his head.

Rigel wasn't having an easy time either. Like Sandy had done to Tayern, he felt Lily hit out with her Cosmo Baton, lashing him several times with the weapon. Bruises covered his scales, before Diana leaped up to grab him by the neck and slam him into the ground.

After this, it was their turn to regroup in fear and worry, both of them badly hurt by the assault on them.

"Told you that we were going to regret this," Tayern panted, blood staining his mouth. "This isn't going to end well."

"You're right there!" Max exclaimed, holding out his hands. "Nightfire Cannon!"

At the command, the weapon appeared in his hands, the other four rangers clustering behind him for support.

"Game over!" the red ranger shouted, aiming at the two of them. "Nightfire Cannon! Fire!"

At the command, the intense red beam erupted from the weapon, raking across the two Salamenks. Both of them let out screams as they felt the full force of the blast, it sending them to their knees. Pure red energy crackled across their skin as they tried to get back up.

"Want some more?" Lily demanded. "Because, we've got plenty to give."

"Lil, don't encourage them," said Nick, shaking his head. "It's just what we don't need."

"The dark tendrils of Oblivion are expanding," chanted the two Salamenks, the Oblivings inside them starting to expand out and cover their bodies with a pure black energy. Barely a few seconds passed before they had grown to a giant size, towering above the five rangers.

"Aww, man!" Max said, shaking his head. "We're not getting tag teamed again, are we?"

"Not this time you aren't!"

A flurry of laser fire came streaking out of the sky, crashing against the two Salamenks. Although they weren't fazed by the blast, the Night Hawk swept down over the battlefield, the Mirror Ranger in the cockpit. Reaching down to a pad, he keyed in a code, pushing the numbers four, eight, seven and one, the input bringing the console to life.

"Activating morph drive! Mirror Hawk Megazord!"

Responding to the command, the Night Hawk transformed into a mechanical Pidgeot. Soaring through the air, the Pidgeot began to change, the face moving forward to balance on the body, revealing a new humanoid face ahead of the Pidgeot crest. The legs moved down to the rear of the figure, combining with the tail feathers to create legs. The wings stayed where they were, while a pair of arms emerged from the body, the talons from the feet moving up to attach to the end of the hands. The transformation complete, the Mirror Hawk Megazord landed on the ground.

"It's Falco!" Lily shouted. "And the Mirror Hawk Megazord!"

"Now it's him being tag teamed," commented Diana. "Think we should give him some help?"

"It's against my better judgement," Max said. "But, let's do it. We need the Cosmo Fighters."

* * *

Swooping down from the sky above them, the Cosmo Fighters arrived on the scene, the automated transport systems bringing the rangers on board. In response to their arrival, the morph drives activated, transforming the Cosmo Fighter into their Zord forms.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation!"

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

"Good thing that our Zords are back in business," Nick said. "Anyone else really want to put the hurt on these guys?"

"Thought that I was the only one thinking that," Lily commented, as Rigel moved to attack the Mirror Hawk Megazord, Tayern coming for the five of them in the Cosmo Megazord. "At least it's an even battle."

Tayern struck out with a Dragon Claw, his attack crashing into the Cosmo Megazord. Although it did some damage, the giant robot soon hit back with several punches of its own. Inside their cockpits, the five rangers watched as Tayern staggered back, before Max gave a command.

"Fire Bomb Blast!"

The cannons emerged from the chest of the Cosmo Megazord, locking onto Tayern in an instant before blasting him several times with a barrage of fire balls. The Salamenk let out a roar of pain as he was staggered by the blow, yet he didn't appear to be too badly hurt.

"Great hit," Diana called, as the Cosmo Megazord followed up with some more attacks, throwing two punches at Tayern before kicking him in the chest. In response, the Salamenk tried to bite down on the shoulder of the giant robot. His teeth closed down on some loose metal, but didn't cause too much damage.

"Shadow Uppercut!" Lily shouted, hitting a button on her console. "Now!"

At her order, the Mightyena arm began to glow with a bright black energy, rising up to smash Tayern under the chin. With a roar of pain, he sailed several feet up into the air before coming to a less than graceful landing in a heap.

"Your time is up!" Max yelled. "Star Blade!"  
In front of them, Tayern had gotten to his feet, the Salamenk starting his final suicide run towards them. In the same instant, the sword appeared within the grasp of the giant robot.

"Star Blade Assault!"

Before Tayern could reach them, the blade began to glow with a white energy, the shine building up to its maximum, before it was brought down on the Salamenk. Five strikes later and their enemy went down, his giant frame exploding as he hit the ground. Inside his cockpit, Max caught the card, the only trace of Tayern left outside Acathria.

"Yeah, we did it!" Nick shouted. "Take that!"

"Good job, guys!" said Sandy. "That wasn't as tough as I thought it'd be."

Despite the defeat of Tayern, Falco in the Mirror Hawk Megazord was still battling with Rigel. Like his comrade earlier, the Salamenk started out with a Dragon Claw. Rather than take the hit, the Mirror Ranger had directed the Megazord up into the air to evade the hit. He had anticipated that the Salamenk would probably follow him, and that was exactly what the Poké Alien did. As it rose up level with him, the Mirror Ranger gave a command.

"Air Slash!"

With the enemy only a few feet in front of him, the talons swept up and raked across Rigel's body several times, before the Mirror Hawk Megazord spun around and kicked the Salamenk in the chest. Roaring, Rigel's jaws snapped up to try and rip a chunk out of the Megazord. Falco reacted faster, moving the controls to bring up an arm and block the attack. Despite the arm being trapped in Rigel's mouth, he directed the other arm into punching him in the stomach. Winded by the strike, the Salamenk staggered back.

"Wing Attack!" roared the Mirror Ranger, his Megazord rushing forward to beat Rigel countless times with the sheer power contained within its wings. Despite his size and the natural Salamenk power he had, Rigel was helpless to break free of the assault. When it subsided, the Mirror Hawk Megazord rose up from the ground and kicked him in the chest.

"You're finished!" Falco said, as his Megazord began to glow with a pure silver energy. "That time is up, Rigel. Sky Attack!"

The sheer power surrounding the robot reached its maximum point, forcing the Mirror Hawk Megazord to shoot forward and crash into the Salamenk. Again, the enemy let out a roar as he was forced back by the attack, exploding in a pillar of smoke as he hit the ground. Inside the cockpit of the Mirror Hawk Megazord, the card containing him appeared within Falco's hand.

"Just another days work, just another petty criminal," said the Mirror Ranger.

* * *

Below them, Rohan had hidden an alley, out of the way of where he could be seen by the two giant robots. He could only breath a sigh of relief that he hadn't been found by either of them, although that brief glimmer of optimism was soon shattered as he remembered the map had been lost. Samedi would not be pleased.

And then it struck him, one possible way in which he may be able to talk his way out of the problems he found himself in.

"Don't worry, guys," he said, speaking to the memory of Rigel and Tayern. "I won't leave out your part in all of this. How you lost the map..."

Yes, he thought, breathing another sigh of relief. That excuse, however flimsy, would possibly stop Samedi from directing the fullest force of his anger against him.

* * *

"Sir, what was the point of all that?" Max asked, the five of them walking into Falco's office. "You left us high and dry."

"Did I?" the Mirror Ranger asked, not looking up from the file he was reading. As he put it down, they saw that it was the map they had recovered from Rohan and the Salamenks. "You beat your opponents, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point," Nick complained. "We might not have, they could have beaten..."

"If anything, those two Salamenks proved a point to you," interrupted the Mirror Ranger. "When you put your mind to it, when you absolutely have to, the five of you are a damn effective fighting force. That was the way it was before I became a ranger, that's the way it still should be. You forget that this is my ship, I have ears everywhere on it."

"Really?" Diana asked. "Really?"

"Well, Techno 9 keeps me informed," said Falco. "And that little AI..."

"I'm not little," Techno 9 piped up in the corner. "You're little compared to me!"

"... That AI told me about a discussion you had, one which was something I didn't want to hear. Let me get something straight to you, Cadets. I am not here to do your fighting for you. I am here to give you support when you desperately need it, not when you think you need it because you've been failing to put the effort into your training."

"So, you heard that then?" Lily asked, looking sheepish. "Ouch."

"Sir," Max said, stepping forward. "Can I just say that this was my fault. I took that train of thought and it may have rubbed off on some of the others. I wish to apologise. Not only to you, but to my fellow cadets."

"Duly noted, Cadet Redwood," said the Aerobian. "I'm willing to forget the matter completely, on one condition."

"What's that?"

* * *

"Cosmosis!"

As one, the six rangers morphed into their suits, the Mirror Ranger stepping into the middle of the combat arena. His five cadets moved to surround him, before he clicked his fingers.

"Time to prove your point," said Falco. "Attack!"

This time, their method of attack was different. Rather than go at him separately, Diana and Nick jumped at him, both of them activating their attacks.

"Leaf Blade!" roared Nick, a pair of blades composed of green energy erupting from his wrists.

"Mega Punch!" shouted Diana, her fists glowing with the pure power of energy. Both of them came to Falco who brought up his Mirror Wing and managed to block them away. His shield began to shimmer with a green and white hue, only to be quickly brought into action again as Lily and Sandy came to kick him. He managed to block the pair of flying kicks with the Mirror Wing, quickly redirecting the energy back at them. The black and blue rangers went crashing back under the force of the blast, as Max jumped over them, a Cosmo Baton in hand. He swept the weapon up, crashing it against the Mirror Wing. It didn't take much for Falco to block the blow, kicking Max in the chest as the weapons locked together.

"Psycho Cut!"

"Shadow Claw!"  
Again, Sandy and Lily came at the Mirror Ranger. Sandy's entire arm was glowing with purple energy as she made a chopping motion at him, while the black claws had erupted from Lily's knuckles. Grimacing under his helmet, Falco spread his wings and flew up just far enough to avoid their attacks. Yet, Max had anticipated this. Tensing the muscles in his legs, he sprang up into the air, his fist bursting into flames...

"Fire Punch!"

... Which he quickly slammed into the Mirror Ranger's chest, knocking him out of the air. Barely a second after Falco had hit the ground, he rose back up in a menacing fashion, his demeanour suddenly worrying Max immensely.

Then, he began to laugh, a sound that relaxed the entire room.

"Good job, Cadets," the Mirror Ranger said. "That's the level of intensity that I expect from you. Congratulations."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**... Okay, so that might not have been completely original in places.**

**Has been a bit delayed, but... Black and White came out. Distraction. Anyway, it's up now.**

**Everything seems back to normal now. That loss of focus has been readdressed and an arc has been started.**

**Thanks for the reviews. That's better! Anyway, they really are all appreciated.**

**Just to prove that Falco may or may not be going with them every time they fight.**

**The next one is entitled Trapped, the preview is below. I have no idea when it will be up.**

**Also, food for thought. The next one may or may not feature a cameo from a certain character who made many appearances throughout the first three stories. Just to whet your appetite.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Seventeen, Trapped, preview.**

**Falco: I hate to have to send you on this task, but...**

**Nick: But what?**

**Falco: The two of you need to go into Acathria to talk to someone.**

**Lily: I never want to come to this place again.**

**Max: They're doing what in Acathria.**

**Sandy: I believe the technical term is rioting. Or rebelling, whatever you want to call it.**

**Diana: And they're trapped in there!**

**Max: That's not our only problem.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	17. Trapped

Chapter Seventeen. Trapped.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_As the Mirror Ranger joined the team, Falco suggested a training session where he managed to easily beat down the rangers with his power. Rather than be worried about it, the rangers instead decided to relax in the knowledge that he would be there to bail them out in a fight. Meanwhile, Samedi sent Rohan Gaschet and a pair of Salamenk bodyguards to try and find an ancient map. However, their presence drew the rangers to them when someone recognised one of the Salamenks. The rangers tracked them down and fought, only to be badly beaten. When calling for the Mirror Ranger, Falco told them to sort their own problems out. Spurred on by his refusal to help them, they redoubled their efforts and managed to beat the Salamenks, before Falco did join in the fight with the Mirror Hawk Megazord. After that, the five rangers fought the Mirror Ranger again and managed to match him..._

_

* * *

_

"Let's all think this over then," Falco said, leaning back in his seat. "What do we know so far?"

All around the room, the crew of the Night Hawk, with the exception of Golde, Chebek and Blister, and the rangers looked at him from where they were sat around the large conference table, until Sandy finally spoke up.

"We know that there are Oblivings," she said. "Where they come from, we don't know. What they are, we don't know. Who they are, we don't know. Apart from that, everything's clear."

"Sarcasm isn't helping," Evelyn pointed out. "Never has, never will."

"Unfortunately," said Diana. "That's about all we've got at this moment in time. So, we're just going to have to fill in the blanks with pointless sarcasm until we can think of something better."

"You all seem to be forgetting that there is one lead," Payne said. "There's the map."

"The map?" Nick asked. "That's about as helpful as an eclipse on a planet that thrives on solar power. It's in a really strange language."

"He does have a point there," Doctor Katongo said. "I am unable to recognise the language as anything that is used within the wider universe. I have narrowed the search recognition parameters out to include localised tribal dialects, but so far nothing."

"If that's the case, then I suggest we forget the map for a moment," said Max. "And focus on the other lead that we have."

"Which one's that?" asked Gordon. "Because, I don't believe that I heard that one."

"When Rohan was leaving with the map," replied the red ranger. "He mentioned a name. Samedi. That meaning anything to anyone?"

"I heard that as well," Lily said. "It's got to be who he works for, especially with the way he said it."  
"Samedi," mused Falco. "Maybe I should have it run through the Cosmo Force databanks, see what we can find out about whatever it may be."

"Probably about the only lead we have," Sandy said. "Or are likely to get any time soon."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"So, what did the higher powers say?" wondered Nick, seeing Falco come back into the room. "Anything at all on the mysterious Mr. Samedi?"

"Not a thing," replied the Aerobian. "At least, nothing really revealing. Just a few base facts about him possibly being the head figure behind a crime syndicate. There's accusations about him, stuff that has threatened to come out, but nothing concrete. There's been no connection between him and any crime until now. Layers of buffering, bureaucracy, bribery... Probably all part of his protection. Probably the reason that we haven't heard anything major about him or her until now."

"What about trying to steal that map," asked Payne. "I know it's a long shot, but can't we use that as an excuse to start investigating him?"

"It's doubtful," Doctor Katongo said. "For one thing, it wasn't him that tried to steal it. All we've got to go on is a name overheard. That's not probable cause."

"Besides, in order to go down that alley, we'd have to have grabbed Rohan," said Max. "And he managed to slip away again."

"He's hard to keep hold of," Lily pointed out. "His name and picture is out there as wanted, but since they had no luck catching him before, there's nothing to suggest that they will now."

"Forget about Gaschet," said Falco. "He's not important here. What really matters is that we try to find something out about Samedi. Although we don't have much, the higher powers who gave me what little information we have did tell me that they're worried about him. Or her. Apparently, his name is coming up more and more frequently, at least in comparison to the old days. His name came up once in ten years. Now, it's come up three times in the last month."

"So, what's the plan?"

"There was a line of investigation that they ordered me to pursue," said the Mirror Ranger, looking a little sheepish as he spoke. "Or, at least set you to take care of."

"Sounds like they're well within their right to do it," commented Payne. "If he's someone that worries them, it's better to check them out, see what they're doing below the radar and at least that way you know."

"Anyway, I hate to have to send you on this task," Falco said. "But..."

"But what?" asked Nick, suddenly worried by the look on the Mirror Ranger's face. "Is it something really bad?"

"Before I tell you what it is, I'm going to ask if there's any chance of you volunteering without knowing what it is," Falco said, looking around the room. Nobody put their hands up to do so, not comfortable to do so without hearing what the task was beforehand.

"Oh come on," said the Aerobian. "There's got to be one of you who fancies the element of risk in this mission. Are there none of you who..."

"Oh alright then, I'll do it!" Lily exclaimed, sticking her hand up. "I volunteer. If the rest of you are going to wimp out about it, then so be it."

"I actually want two volunteers for this," Falco said. "So, thanks for that, Cadet Yushaa. Anyone else."

In the next few moments, Max, Sandy, Diana and Nick looked at each other, daring another to make the first move to come up and volunteer. Finally, Nick spoke up, raising his hand.

"It's against my better judgement," he said, sighing as he did so. "But, I'll do it. I volunteer for whatever this mission is."

"I'm going to make the point that it's not a reckless suicide mission," the Mirror Ranger said. "Thank you for that act of volunteering."  
"So, what is it?" asked Lily. "Now that it looks like we're doing it."

"The two of you need to go into Acathria to talk to someone," Falco replied. "Someone in there who may know something about Samedi, and why he wants that map."

"Who is it?" asked Max. "And I presume that there is a point to it, otherwise you wouldn't be advocating it."

"About a year ago, a Simiqua was arrested for embezzlement and a whole bunch of other corporate crimes," said Falco. "Before he went to trial, he tried to cut a deal in exchange for revealing a bunch of stuff about someone named Samedi. Because he wasn't deemed a threat, because he wasn't on the radar as a known threat to galactic harmony, he was ignored."

"So, what happened to him?" asked Evelyn. "Take it he didn't get off with what he'd done."

"He was found guilty on all charges," Falco answered. "Given ten years in Acathria. Which is why I want you two to go in there and find out what he knows. If it turns out to be helpful, then we're disposed to offer him a deal slashing his term of incarceration in half."

"Well, it shouldn't be too tough," Lily said, before her bravado increased. "Can't believe this is what the rest of you were so worried about. It's not that tough."

* * *

"So, that's the entrance to Acathria, huh?" Max asked, looking out of the window on one of the observation decks at the huge orange tear within the fabric of space in front of them. "Bit simple, isn't it?"

"Not really," Sandy said, glancing around the room at the other rangers. "Nothing at all about the way this place operates is simple. You know when we use the CED?"

"Yeah..." Lily replied, giving off the impression that she really didn't want to hear about it. The blue ranger ignored her as she carried on speaking.

"When that is used, a criminal's physical body is stored away in one of those cards," she explained. "Their spirit is sent to this place. While they're inside there, they have a limited physical body. But if they try to leave, they won't have one, meaning that they're essentially a ghost. That's one of the features of that dimension, one that makes sure there's no point in trying to escape."

"Only one of the features?" Diana wondered. "What else is there?"

"The usual," answered the blue ranger. "A lot of guards, psychotropic effects designed to keep down those that who have done bad things in their lives. The fact that there's not really a way out of there. There is a decent sized station on the other side of the tear, but there aren't any ships there."

"I already knew something like that," Nick commented. "I did some training for a month here not too long ago. You missed something out about the Dark Spectre effect."

"The what effect?" asked Diana. "See, I've heard of these Dark Spectres, but never actually sure about what they are."

"That's just the technical term for a criminal who tries to escape out of Acathria without their body," Sandy explained. "There's not that many escapes, which is why there isn't that much focus on them. But, like everything in life, there are exceptions with that effect. Some of the criminals, those that are both physically and mentally tough to an extreme, do keep their corporeal forms. Those guys are secured away more than the rest of them."

"So, we could go in there, talk to the guy we want to talk to and then come out again without any problems?" mused Lily. "Great. That's exactly what we want."

* * *

"Okay, Cadets," said Falco, the six of them, plus Payne coming out of the docked Night Hawk. "We're here."

"Shouldn't there be someone here to greet us?" Max asked, seeing the empty docking area. "I mean, this is just eerily quiet."

"They're here," Payne replied, his eyes narrowing. "You just can't see them."

"What?" asked Lily. "You're joking, right? There's nobody here."

"Can't you smell them, Cadet Yushaa?" replied the Felaine. "They're all around us. Just a case of knowing what to..."

Before he could finish, several bright shimmers ripped through the air, the cloaking devices fading away to reveal an assortment of Poké Aliens all wearing guard uniforms in bright silver.

"Greetings," said their leader, a Zebstrika or a Ztrikar, lowering a blaster rifle. His body was that of a Zebstrika, yet he also had a humanoid body atop the front legs, while his appearance was completed by the Zebstrika head. "Welcome to Acathria. Our apologies for the invisible reception, you can't be too careful with who is coming in at times."

"Oh, we understand perfectly," Falco answered, offering him a hand. "Commandant Griote, we called ahead about talking to one of your prisoners."

"You did indeed," answered the Ztrikar, returning the greeting. "Captain Zapp Tsorm, I'm in charge of security here. You want to talk to Scally Byrne about something?"

"If thats the prisoner," said Nick, nodding his head at Lily. "Then yes. It's me and her going in there."

"I see," Captain Tsorm replied, moving to beat one of his hooves against the floor. A Nyurian broke out of the group and came over to them, quickly followed by another two, a Sandorkian and a Vocalarian. "Officer Raketti will take you to one of the interview rooms. Officers Gray and Streetchi will go get the guy that you need."

"Great," Lily said, stepping forward. "We'll go on over then."

"The rest of us shall wait here for you," said Falco. "We await your return."

As the two of them made their way to follow the Nyurian, Diana spoke up, directing her question at Falco.

"Sir, why are we all here if only two of us were needed?" she asked. "Couldn't the rest of us have waited on the Night Hawk."

"Because, it's polite, Cadet Camerons," replied the Aerobian. "And, there's not really any point in more of us going into the prison, we'd only have to wait outside the interrogation room."

"That sort of makes sense," Sandy said. "A little bit, anyway."

* * *

"Standard protocol," said Officer Raketti, pausing in front of what had to be the main entrance to the prison proper. He held up an empty silver tray, one that was almost as big as his head. "Need you to turn in any weapons you may have, any sharp objects, anything that could be used in an offensive fashion."

Looking at each other for a moment, both Nick and Lily moved to remove their Cosmo Blasters and Batons, dropping them into the tray. Another moment passed, before Nick removed his morpher and dropped it inside. Lily reached into her pocket and dropped a set of keys into it, before taking her own morpher off. Pausing for a moment, she reached around to the small of her back, before bringing out a knife and dropping it in as well.

"You... Why do you keep that there?" Nick wondered, speechless by what he had just seen. "Is there any possible need for it?"

"It's for an emergency," answered the black ranger. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Giving them both some strange looks, Raketti put the tray down, before moving over to the control pad. He keyed in a combination, neither of the rangers able to see what it was that he had just put in as the doors soon slid open with a hiss.

"Okay, follow me," said the Nyurian, briskly. "Don't touch anything at all."

As he stepped inside, the two rangers immediately made to follow him, both of them taking tentative steps into the corridor...

... Where they immediately felt it, the powerful surge of depressive psychic energy pass over them. It only affected Nick for a moment, before the green ranger managed to stand up straight. On her knees, Lily was only able to half recover from the effects, moving over to the railing to try and pull herself up to her feet.

"I never want to come to this place again," she groaned, looking over the walkway to see what lay below. Down below them, she could see several convicts milling around in boredom. "You get that feeling, almost like you should abandon all hope."

"Not more than usual," Nick answered. "Maybe it's just the psychotropic effects for people who have done bad things."

"Oh, thanks," the black ranger replied, angrily. "You just made me feel a lot better."

"It'll pass in time, Cadet Yushaa," said Officer Raketti, with a small smile. "As Cadet Miele just said, it is the psychotropic effects, nothing permanent. They affect you more if you have gone unpunished for misdeeds and crimes in the past. That's all I'm going to say."

"Suppose you get used to it, huh?" asked Lily as she managed to get to her feet. "Okay, lead on."

* * *

"What do you guys want?"

After being thrown into the room, Scally Byrne wasn't in the mood to talk. The brown skinned Simiqua, a creature that resembled a Simipour, just sat there giving them both dirty looks. Minutes passed, the green and black rangers not wanting to break the silence, before he did it for them, speaking up in an annoyed fashion.

"World peace, what do you want, Scally?" asked Nick. "What do any of us want?"

"Which world do you want peace on," wondered the Simiqua. "There's plenty of them that could use it. Why are you here, don't you have anything better to do?"

"Funny enough, we don't," said Lily. "But, it's you that we're here to talk about. How's Acathria suiting you?"

"Can't complain," he retorted. "Even if I did, who am I going to do it to. Ten years for redirecting funds... I've seen mass murderers get away with less."

"Yeah, but a lot of beings in high places don't like it when you steal from them," Nick pointed out. "Makes them a bit vengeful. Anyway, we're not here to talk about that."

"You're not."

"How would you like to have your term of imprisonment cut short?" asked Lily. "Because, if you want that, then it's your lucky day. Possibly."

"Hmm... How short?"

"Five years taken off it," said Nick. "Apparently our people in high places think that you didn't deserve it either."

"And what would I have to do to get this fabulous opportunity?"

"When you were arrested and awaiting trial, you mentioned someone named Samedi..." said Lily, letting her words hang.

"Ah, that's what you want," he replied, getting the message immediately. "Well, if that's the case... Seven."

"What?"

"I want seven years taken off my term, or no deal."

"This isn't a negotiation!" Lily snapped, rising to her feet. "It's us offering you a deal followed by you telling us everything we want to know."

"Errr... Lil?"

"What?"

"That is a negotiation."

"I don't care! That's not the point!"

* * *

"Hey, Guard!"

Stood at the entrance to the interrogation rooms, Officers Grey and Streetchi saw the hulking Rhynix wander over to them, his footsteps booming in the relative silence of the corridor. Not too far behind him, the rest of the prisoners stopped what they were doing to look over at the Rhyperior-like Poké Alien and see what he was about to try.

"Don't they want to talk to the rest of us?" he asked, showing a mouth of missing teeth. "We not good enough?"

"Stand down!" warned Officer Streetchi. "Or we'll put you down. Hard."

"I'm really shaking," the Rhynix taunted, moving his face close to the Vocalarian. "You don't intimidate me!"

"Step away," said Officer Grey, taking out his baton. "And we'll forget all about it."

"I think I'll pass."

As the Rhynix finished speaking, the Sandorkian crashed his baton down into his back leg, temporarily sending him down onto one knee. Because of his rock-like skin, the Rhynix took the blow before rising up and smashing the guard against the wall. Next to him, Officer Streetchi tried to react and attack, only for his blow to bounce off the skin. The Rhynix had no problem taking care of him, hurling him back through the air towards where the rest of the prisoners were still watching. As he landed, they moved to swarm over him, hitting whatever they could make contact with.

"Let the fun begin!" laughed the Rhynix, taking up both batons in hand and starting his move down the corridor. Behind him, he didn't see the Sandorkian, Officer Grey rise to his feet and leap for the alarm. Instead, some of the other prisoners went for him. He barely managed to reach the alarm and hammer his fist down into it before they got to him and started to brutally beat him in the same way they had done to Officer Streetchi.

* * *

"Those are my terms," Scally insisted. "I want seven years taken off my sentence, then I'll tell you about Samedi and what his dirty little secrets are. The ones that I know of, anyway."

"I don't think we can do seven," Nick said. "Maybe six? Would six suit you?"

As the option was put to him, Scally made a big show of mulling it over, his chin going in for much stroking as he got up out of his seat and began to pace back and forth.

"Maybe," he said. "Six sounds better than five. But, it's worse than seven, so we're still not able to reach a negotiation."

"Six and a half?" asked Lily. "And, I don't bash your head in."

"Lil!" warned Nick. "That's not helpful to the interrogation."

"Oh be quiet! I'm trying to 'negotiate' here."

That was when the alarm rang out, the two cadets immediately getting to their feet in surprise at the sudden outburst of sound.

"What the mrek is that?" the black ranger asked, looking around in worry. "Is our time up?"  
"Sounds like the good ol' riot alarm," Scally cheered. "Time for you to make a decision, because I imagine the two of you aren't going to be popular in the next few minutes. If we both survive through this, we might well talk again."

As he finished speaking, the entire section of wall which held the door caved in, revealing the Rhynix and a few more prisoners behind him, all of them wearing sadistic looks as they walked into the interrogation room.

"What do we have here?" taunted the Rhynix. "Some cadets from none other than Cosmo Force. This is good, right friends?"

A chorus of cheers rang out from the crowd, temporarily displacing the ugly mood. Both Nick and Lily took up fighting stances, yet they knew it was hopeless to expect they could fight all of them off.

What happened next stunned them. Quite literally, as Scally got up and whacked them both with his chair, his fast and unexpected blows enough to knock them both out cold.

"Didn't see that coming, huh!" he taunted. "Damn mrekheads from Cosmo Force!"

* * *

"Uh oh!" Captain Tsorm exclaimed, moving over to one of the consoles as soon as the alarm rang out, his hooves clattering on the floor. "We're in trouble."

"What, what is it?" Sandy asked, going over to him, doing as he did to look down at one of the monitors. "Eeep, that doesn't look pleasant."

On the screen in front of her, she could see the entire population of prisoners doing their level best to wreck the entire place, tables were overturned, floor tiles were being ripped up and thrown at the walls, while some of them were dangling a guard from one of the balconies.

"We've got a prisoner uprising in progress," Tsorm said, grimly. "This isn't good, they're tearing the place apart."

"They're doing what in Acathria?" Max demanded, almost managing a double take on the spot. "Did I just hear that right?"

"I believe the technical term is rioting," Sandy said. "Or rebelling, whatever you want to call it. Either way, it's not good."

"You're not joking, Cadet Garcia," said Falco. "This is worrying. Normally, they'd just gas the entire place, but..."

"But what?" Sandy asked, a look of worry appearing on the blue ranger's face. "What's stopping them?"

"Neither Cadet Yushaa or Miele managed to get out before it all kicked off," answered the Aerobian, sadly.

"And they're trapped in there!" Diana exclaimed. "Come on, we have to go and get them!"

"We're not doing that yet," Falco answered. "It's going to take a lot more than four of us to do that. They're sending over a riot squad, we'll go in with them to get them out."

"Sir, that might be too late," protested Diana. "Acathria is the biggest collection psychopaths in the galaxy. If they get them, they'll be dead."

"And they're here!" Tsorm exclaimed, the metal door in front of them sliding open to let through a small group of rioting prisoners. "What the... Battle Stations!"

At once, his guards took up battle positions, each of them starting to fire into the crowd in an attempt to take down the disorganised group of prisoners rampaging towards them. At the same time, the four rangers and Payne all took up fighting positions. Two of them came towards Max, who threw a barrage of small fire flares towards their faces. Although the attack wasn't enough to cause serious permanent damage, it was enough to stun them as he kicked one in the chest to send to the ground before elbowing another in the throat. With them both being unable to see, they both gave up and tried to crawl back to where they had come from, only to be trampled by some more of them.

"Close the doors, someone!" Tsorm screamed, firing his weapon into the crowd. For each one that went down, another two or three came through to take his place. Nobody knew exactly how many inmates Acathria held at one time or another, yet the official estimate was close to fifty thousand.

Sandy heard him, reaching out to tap Diana on the shoulder. The yellow ranger had just finished taking one of the prisoners down with a vicious right hook to the face, immediately reacted with surprise as she turned to face Sandy, almost attacking her.

"Cover me!" Sandy exclaimed, gesturing to one of the consoles. "Need to get the doors..."

She paused for a moment to deliver a crushing punch to the face of an Ursene. The Ursaring-like Poké Alien was staggered for a moment, before she hit him again to take him down.

"Closed," she finished. "Come on!"

Meanwhile, Falco and Payne were in the middle of problems. The two of them had found themselves in the middle of the largest influx of prisoners. Unfortunately for the prisoners who came across them, it was the Aerobian and the Felaine who turned out to be their problem. Payne struck out with claws and teeth to cut through their masses, while Falco hit out with his fists and wings. What their attacks lacked with subtlety, they made up in with brute force. Both of them knew that this wasn't a time to fight with grace and skill, it was a time to beat back the forces with whatever came their way. As if to emphasise that point, Payne ripped the wing off a Nocture and threw it at a Gela, snickering as the blow hit it in the face.

"My very own Wing Attack," he quipped.

At the other side of the room, Sandy and Diana had found the console, the blue ranger stooped over it to try and work her way through getting the doors closed while Diana watched her back. The yellow ranger even brought up her Cosmo Blaster to force the prisoners away from the two of them, eventually going to grab Sandy's from her holster to double the efforts. All while she kept firing, the blue ranger typed away, only stopping as a Zangovian managed to get in past Diana and grab Sandy by the shoulder. Before the blue ranger could react, she was twisted around, the Zangoose-like Poké Aliens claws up high...

... But again, Diana was there, viciously snap kicking the Zangovian in the chest to get him away from Sandy. He hit the ground and immediately tried to get back up, only for the yellow ranger to shoot him in the head. Back at the console, Sandy started typing again, her spirits rising as the roar of the doors at the rear of the room sounded out, the sign that they were starting to seal.

When they closed, the waves of prisoners ahead of the doors were split from those behind them. Now that they had no reinforcements, the ones left ahead of the doors in the docking bay lost heart and were soon taken down by the combined forces of those left standing.

With the defeated prisoners lining the floor all around them, Max finally spoke up, in between gasps of air.

"So, where do we go from here?"

* * *

"Wakey wakey!"

A wall of water hit both Nick and Lily, the cold effect slowly breaking them out of their unconscious state. The sound of the bucket being refilled rattled out through the small room, before another harsh blast crashed against them. This time, they both started to choke as they fully returned to a conscious state.

Both of them had been handcuffed to their seats, neither able to move easily in their secured state, yet they could both see the Ryhnix stood looking at them with contempt.

"Ah, I see you've finally woken up," he said. "Good, it means that I can stop hurling water over you now."

"Oh, so sorry to be a trouble," said Lily, the sarcasm venomous in her voice. "If you want to let us go, I'd be happy to return the favour by kicking your head in."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, is it?" demanded the Rhynix. "One, I'm not letting you out of that seat. Two, you probably couldn't do it if you wanted to."

"Aww, man, don't say that," Nick pleaded. "It makes her impossible to work with when she's got that violent urge to prove you wrong in her system."

"Do I hear the sounds of dissent from your friend?" taunted the Rhynix, smirking at the black ranger. "Dear dear dear. Well, enough from me, there's a few other inmates who would like to talk to you. Can't imagine why, but it's probably not going to be good for you."

Laughing, he turned away to leave the room, four very familiar figures to the two rangers walking into the room. A Mystigar, an Algovic, a Tatiarite and an Exegguri.

"Uh oh," Nick gulped. "Renzo! Etor!"

"Darzelle and Jeffrey!" Lily exclaimed. "Come on, there couldn't be any competent guys that we arrested coming to take their revenge on us, could there?"

"Do you always have to try and drop us in it worse than we are?" Nick wondered. His question was given a harsh answer as Darzelle strode over and hit him in the face, her punch backed by a powerful surge of psychic energy.

"Shut up!" she said simply, her eyes flickering to black to show she still had the Obliving in her. "Or else."

* * *

"That's one problem out of the way," Falco said, looking over as Captain Tsorm's forces finished categorising the defeated prisoners, moving them into groups of those that were alive and those that were dead. "Now, we still have another."

"How long until that riot team gets here?" asked Diana, sat cross legged on the floor, while wrapping a bandage around her upper arm which had been badly cut during the battle. Across from where she sat, Sandy was watching her with interest.

"Not long," said Captain Tsorm. "There's a small station on the closest planet. If the alarm goes off, they know to come over ready for action."

"What happens if a prisoner punches the alarm for a laugh?" wondered Diana. "Because, this place seems like full of such glee."

"Don't get sarcastic, Cadet Camerons," Payne said. "I imagine that the alarms are encoded so that only guards can use them."

"The Felaine is correct," said Captain Tsorm. "And, they are only to be conserved for an emergency."

Sat where she was, Diana finished bandaging up her arm, moving to get to her feet. She was surprised to get a hand up from Sandy, who quickly embraced her and kissed her on the forehead, much to the yellow ranger's surprise. And unease.

"Thanks for saving my life," the blue ranger said, softly. Across the room, both Max and Payne looked at each other before grinning. A few of the security officers were doing the same, one of them even let out half a wolf-whistle before a glare from Captain Tsorm silenced him.

Across from them, a console beeped several times in rapid fashion, alerting the group. This time Max crossed over to look at it, the colour draining from his face as he glanced up from it to look at them.

"That's not our only problem," he said. "According to these, Dark Spectre broke out while we were fighting and left the void. If the alarm's gone off, it would mean that it's left here and got onto the Night Hawk."

"Oh mrek!" Diana exclaimed. "That's all we need right now."

"This changes nothing," Falco said, grimacing. "I want the three of you to go back to the Night Hawk right now. Take it a safe distance away from the entrance, before you find it and send it back to where it belongs."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Max. "If it's an incorporeal spirit, that is."

"In my office, in the desk, there's a Cress Crystal," replied Falco. "Use that to defeat it."

"Okay, we'll do that then," said Sandy. "What about you?"

"I'll still go in with the riot squad," answered the Aerobian. "We'll bring them out. But, your priority is to take care of that Spectre."

* * *

"Okay, it's here," Max announced, holding up the odd purple crystal in his hand. "Falco's Cress Crystal."

While he had been getting it, the other two rangers had been moving the crew into the mess hall, where they would be locked in while they searched for the Dark Spectre.

"Sorry about this, guys," said the red ranger. "But, just going to give you all a quick run over with this."

"Oh, we understand," Evelyn replied. "You've got to cover your bases, haven't you. Just to check that we're not under the control of one of those vile things."

It didn't take long for them to scan everyone present on the Night Hawk, the three of them ultimately becoming satisfied that none of them were under the influence of a Dark Spectre. Had they been so, the Cress Crystal would have resonated, moving to draw out the creature from its host.

"It's not here then," said Sandy, as the three of them regrouped at the entrance, Max moving to close the door behind them. "I've read up on Cress Crystals, if it was anywhere in that room, it would have picked it up."

"So, what now then?" asked Diana. "There's three of us, and one crystal. We going to stick together, or what?"

"I suggest splitting up," said Max. "We'll cover more ground that way. Once we've got it, we can go to help the riot squad with getting back Nick and Lily."

"Well, I'm worried about them too," Sandy pointed out. "Okay, who shall take the crystal?"

"I'll have it," Max said. "If either of you get into trouble, just yell and I'll come looking for you with the crystal."

"Ah, the strapping hero comes to the rescue," Diana commented, sarcastically. "However shall we ever repay you if it comes down to it?"

"I can probably think of something."

* * *

"Good to get some action, huh?" Payne said, checking his blaster rifle. Behind him, the rest of the riot squad had arrived, all clad in black body armour and helmets, each carrying a large riot shield. They also had batons and blasters at their waists, ready to employ them if need be. "You up for this, Sir?"

"Always am, Old Friend," replied Falco. Unlike the rest of them, he currently had no weapon in his hands, just his morpher. "You remember the plan? You and those guys back there engage the rioters, I'll go find our missing cadets."

"Good luck with that, Sir," said the Felaine. "I think you might need it."

"We're ready to go when you are, Commandant," called Captain Tsorm. "Okay?"

* * *

Holding the Cress Crystal in front of him, Max took another step forward, the sweat running down his forehead. Normally, that didn't happen, not even when his hair was in flames. Yet now, he felt more worried than normal, knowing what could happen if the Dark Spectre got a clear shot at him.

"Excuse me!"

Before he could react, a hand reached out and took the Cress Crystal from him, Max just a little too surprised to try and snatch it back from the figure who had stepped in front of him. However, he saw that the crystal hadn't reacted, so at least the man wasn't the Dark Spectre he was looking for. The man had silver blue coloured hair, his skin extremely pale. The eyes were a haunting violet colour, while he wore a black trench coat above a cream coloured suit and tie, while his shirt was red. There were also a pair of brown shoes, and as the light caught the Cress Crystal in his hands, the red ranger saw some sort of strange looking device on his wrist.

"I need to borrow this for a moment," he said, taking a step back. Before Max could leap at him to try and get it back, the figure vanished away before his eyes.

It was Max's turn to take a step back, blinking several times. Had he really just seen what he thought that he had seen, or was it all a figment of his imagination. All he knew was that the Cress Crystal was no longer in his hand, so it must have been real.

Trying to clear his head, he heard the sound of furtive movement behind him, immediately turning to see what it was. Maybe the strange man had returned...

He saw the Dark Spectre too late as it rushed through the air at him. It resembled a Darkonic or a Darkrai, one that had long skinny arms, no visible lower body that a tapered point. Rather than white fur across its face, the stuff was bright red. The other most noticeable point was that it had a pair of vicious jaws filled with pointed teeth. It sprang over him, forcing him to the ground. What struck him was the sheer shock of the icy wave that passed through him as the arms raked at him. Even if he had been wearing his ranger suit, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand up against the sheer violence of the assault, the claws starting to slash into his skin...

* * *

"How do you think Max is going on downstairs?" Sandy asked, as she and Diana found themselves back together outside the mess hall. "You find anything?"

"Nothing," answered the yellow ranger. "Unfortunately."

"Think Max found anything?" Sandy wondered. "Because, he's not back here. Either that, or he fell down a maintenance shaft."

"Well, he can be pretty clumsy at times," Diana smiled. "So..."

Both of them heard Max's scream from far down the corridor, his cry somehow amplified somehow. Both of their smiles faded at the same time as they looked at each other, suddenly both worried.

"We should probably go and find..."

"I was just about to suggest the same thing."

The two of them turned to run in the direction of the scream, the worry for their friend hidden, but very real.

* * *

Grunting and screaming, Max tried to force the creature off him to no avail, the Dark Spectre digging its claws into him. No matter how hard he seemed to struggle, it clutched down harder onto him, almost wanting to force its way inside him.

Even his fire deserted him at the vital moment, despite trying to activate his abilities, the flammable parts of his body remained cold and dry. He brought back a fist, trying to punch it in the face. All he felt was the teeth dig down into his knuckles, tearing the flesh away from the bone. He let out another scream, his defences drawn down by the sheer pain swimming through him. The teeth went for his throat...

... Only for a rainbow coloured beam of energy to shoot out from somewhere, the blast striking the Dark Spectre in the back. The shadow creature let out a scream as it vanished, Max immediately sitting up, his skin still cold from the assault, to see the strange figure who had stolen the Cress Crystal a few minutes earlier. Again, before he could react, the figure tossed the item at him, the crystal landing on the floor at his feet.

"Sorry about that," the strange human answered, his violet eyes glittering with regret. "Almost put you in trouble for a moment there. My mistake. Least I could do to rectify it..."

"Hold it right there!"

Both of them heard Sandy's voice ring out through the corridor, the figure turned to see her pointing a Cosmo Blaster at him. Before she could go to pull the trigger, he vanished. With no threat there, Diana came running past the blue ranger before looking down at Max with worry.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," he answered, looking down at the Cress Crystal. "I think our Spectre problem is over!"

* * *

"Let's do this!"

At the battle cry, the heavy metal doors started to open up and the riot squad began to charge towards the gap. Few prisoners had remained behind it when the door had been shut, yet those who had stuck there were quickly overwhelmed. Heavy riot shields crashed into them, the forceful blows knocking them out quickly.

Towards the front of the squad, Falco brought up his morpher and gave the command.

"Cosmosis!"

In a flash, he transformed into the Mirror Ranger, immediately taking out his Mirror Wing. Among all the other riot shields, it managed to stand out, but he was under no illusions that it was just as effective when it came down to doing what it was designed for. The group carried on jogging, moving through the corridor to where they knew that they were needed.

It didn't take long for them to break into the main area where the rioted prisoners were holed up. It took even less time for the prisoners to start attacking, immediately breaking out to hurl waves of attacks towards the shielded riot officers. As the attacks started to rain down on them, Falco made his choice. He had a vague idea where the black and green rangers had been, meaning that he knew where to start. Of course, there was no way for the average being to get through the crowd of annoyed prisoners easily, but he was anything but average. That was the least of his problems.

Taking a deep breath, the Mirror Ranger spread out his wings and rose up into the sky, rising above the battle. Some prisoners saw him almost immediately and started throwing things up to try and hit him, yet those projectiles were easily blocked with the Mirror Wing. As he soared across the throng of battling beings, his superior vision spotted an opening, a golden opportunity to attack. With that in mind, he brought the Mirror Blaster out and fired it at the group of prisoners, the powerful blast taking them out.

Again scanning the area, he saw where he needed to go, immediately moving to land. As he did so, a group of assorted prisoners came to attack him, their clutching hands trying to tear him apart. Falco brought up the Mirror Blaster again, moving to thin out some of their ranks. The remaining ones got to him, only to be taken down with a combination of punches, kicks and wing strikes. The Mirror Ranger drew a deep breath, before punching out another one who had gotten too close to him, hitting him two, three, four times in quick succession.

With them out of the way, he made a break through the remaining prisoners, using his wings to knock them aside as he ran, moving towards the entrance to the interrogation rooms.

* * *

"Nick!"

"Ye...ah?" replied the green ranger, his voice thick with pain. "Ouch!"

"You okay?" Lily asked, spitting out the blood in her mouth as she spoke. Both of them had been given a good beating by the four prisoners they had previously arrested, but they hadn't gotten around to seriously injuring them yet.

"I've been better," Nick groaned. One of his eyes was almost completely closed after the punches he had taken from Darzelle and Renzo. "A lot better."

"Me too," Lily said. Etor Xee and Jeffrey had been the ones beating her for the fun of it, both of them currently at the entrance to the room discussing the best way to carry on the torture. Unfortunately for her, she could hear both of them, Jeffrey was moving heavily towards the idea of setting both of them on fire and letting them suffer that way. His Exegguri partner in crime didn't sound overly keen on the matter, his way of thinking was to focus more on excessive cutting.

Neither of the options appealed to her, but had she to pick, she'd have probably gone for the burning. It would possibly be quicker.

That was when she picked up the scent, something in the air close by. Something familiar, something that gave her hope.

"Nick..." she said. "I've got a good feeling here."

"Glad someone has," the green ranger muttered. As he spoke, both Etor and Jeffrey turned to come back into the room, the two of them wearing sadistic grins on their faces. In Etor's case, all thee of his heads had that look.

"Oh well," Jeffrey said. "Guess it's time for us to carry on. You enjoy that little break? Hope that you did, because..."

He didn't have chance to finish, a powerful fist hit him in the back of the head and immediately knocked him out cold. As his friend fell, Etor turned to see the Mirror Ranger on the scene. He went to attack, opening up the three sets of mouths to fire out a barrage of Egg Bomb attacks, only for Falco to bring up the Mirror Wing and absorb the three sets of attacks. As his riot shield began to glow with a bright green energy, he unleashed the energy back at the Exegguri, sending him the same way as Jeffrey.

"They're not so tough, huh?" Lily asked. "That part of the Acathria thing?"

"Looks like it," answered the Mirror Ranger. "The reason they went down so easily is because either of them were not strong enough to retain their physical forms. Let's get out of here before more of them show up."

He moved to help the two of them out of their confines, managing to half remove Lily's handcuffs from one hand, before moving onto the other. That was when he sensed something was wrong, seconds before a wave of psychic energy plucked him up off the ground and slammed him into the wall.

"Commandant Griote!" Darzelle laughed, walking into the room while holding her hand out in front of her to direct the psychic energy at the Mirror Ranger. "How nice to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same," Falco replied, getting to his feet. At the same time, he immediately noticed something about Darzelle that hadn't been there in most of the other prisoners. "You kept your body."

"Of course," answered the Justivale, bowing slightly. "What did you expect? This body is that of a highly trained warrior, both physically and mentally. Takes all they have just to hold me down."

"Sir!" Nick called. "Watch out for Renzo. He could be around here somewhere."  
Darzelle visibly snorted at that comment, shaking her head as she looked at the green ranger.

"You don't have to worry about Renzo any more," she said, softly. "I took care of him. He's no longer an issue, after disagreeing with my way of thinking."

"Be careful, Sir!" Lily called. "It's not going to be easy to defeat her."

"Darzelle," said Falco, making the decision to try a quick ploy. "I know that in the past you have lived by a Justivale code. I honestly wish that you would listen to reason here and realise how this is madness. Just turn around and walk away, try to fight the Obliving, and regain some honour. If you don't do that, I will fight you with all my power and one of us will end up dead."

For a moment, he thought she might go for it, before the first flickerings of her expression turning to stone hit him full on in the stomach.

"So be it," she said, bringing back a fist full of psychic energy. "You will be the one to die, Mirror Ranger."

The attack came at him, just barely faster than he could bring the Mirror Wing up to block it. Her Psychic attack struck him in the chest, knocking him back a few feet. In that time, she sprang at him and hit out with several rapid punches to his upper body. Grunting, Falco struck back with a punch of his own, managing to tag her in the face. Seeing an opening, he spun around and hit her with a powerful uppercut, sending her rising up into the air.

"Nice hit!" Lily cheered. "Go for it, Sir!"

Before the Mirror Ranger could celebrate too much, Darzelle sprang off the wall and hung there for a moment, before firing a Psybeam at him. This time, he did manage to get the Mirror Wing up to block, his shield glowing with a rainbow coloured hue.

Darzelle didn't have time to admire it before the blast was reflected back at her, the stream of energy catching her in the leg as she leaped to evade it. Apart from that, she wasn't too badly hurt, managing to use her falling momentum to spring across at Falco and slam both fists into his stomach. Roaring out in pain, the Mirror Ranger doubled over for a moment, allowing the Mystigar the chance to kick him in the face. However, as he went staggering back from the force of her attack, she also screamed in pain, having hit out with her badly burnt leg. For a moment, the two of them looked at each other, both having taken blows, both hurting from the others efforts.

Then, Lily decided to get into the action. Opening her mouth up, she spat a large orb of poison at Darzelle, the corrosive liquid hitting her in the side of the head. The Justivale screamed in pain and began to claw at her scalp, that distraction allowing Falco to steam in and smash both wings into her. As she flew back across the room from the force of his blow, she crashed into the wall, and fell to her knees, still conscious. Determined to change that, the Mirror Ranger strode forward and hit her with a roundhouse kick to the face, that blow enough to knock her out cold.

As the Mystigar went down, Falco straightened up, drawing several deep breaths as his strength slowly began to return to him. She had not been an easy foe for him to defeat, forcing him into contemplation, until Lily let out a cough.

"You're welcome for the help, Sir," she said. "Now, can you help us out of here? Please?"

* * *

The riot had long since died down, many of the prisoners had now made the decision to calm down and surrender, realising that the riot squad weren't going to give up. Their fight wasn't helped by the way Max, Diana and Sandy had joined in at some point, all three of them now wearing their ranger suits minus the helmets.

"Hey!" Sandy exclaimed, seeing the three figures come out of the hall leading to the interrogation rooms. Like the three rangers, Falco was missing his helmet, carrying it under his arm, while both Nick and Lily still looked worse for the wear after their ordeal. "They're alive."

"Damn!" Max exclaimed, grinning as he said it. "Guess I'm going to have to return all Nick's stuff now that he's alive."

"If you've touched any of my stuff, I will do something to you while you're asleep," the green ranger retorted. "I'm being serious."

"Don't worry, I didn't touch those magazines in your bottom draw," Max said, bringing laughs from both Sandy and Diana. "You know, those..."

"It's not important, okay?" demanded the green ranger. Both Lily and Falco were starting to give him strange looks now, putting him in a situation he didn't want to be in.

"It's good that you both are okay," said Diana. "Good to have you back. At least we don't have to recruit new members to fill your places on the team now."

As they spoke, Lily was looking around the room that had been a battlefield moments earlier, several bodies, both unconscious and dead littering the floor. She was looking for someone who she had a particular gripe with, wondering what had happened to Scally Byrne.

And then she saw him.

* * *

He was sat leaning against one of the walls, one of his eyes closed. The previously brown fur was now matted with sticky red blood, a vacant look on his face. The handle of a knife was protruding from his stomach.

"Mrek!" Lily exclaimed, both she and Nick running over to him. "He doesn't look good."

"What happened here?" Falco demanded, looking around at the riot squad. "That Simiqua was stabbed. Anyone carrying a knife?"

"I suppose it's possible one of the prisoners might have done it in the riot," Captain Tsorm suggested, annoyed by the insinuation that it had been a member of staff who had done it. "Watch your tone, Commandant."

"Come on," Lily said, lightly slapping Scally's face. "You're not dead. Come on!"

"I think he's had it," Nick commented. He reached down and placed his hand on the Simiqua's head, whistling as he felt it. "Damn, he really took a beating here. Feels like his skull's fractured."

"Nice," said a sarcastic Lily, feeling sick as she looked at him. "All of this was for nothing then. We came here to try and get information from him, we end up being tortured and he ends up dead. What a day."

In sheer frustration, she reached down and yanked the knife from his stomach, hurling it against the ground. She noticed that it was shaped like a Rhynix horn, before Scally let out an involuntary shudder. He came to life, his body twitching heavily as he looked around the room.

"Oh... Oh... Oh... No!" he panted. "Not like this! No! No!"

"Come on, Scally!" Nick said, patting him on the shoulder. "You're going to make it, you're not going to die here! We need a medic over here!"

"Errrr... No!" Lily exclaimed. "He doesn't get any medical help until he tells us what he knows about Samedi."

"Oh come on!" Nick retorted. "If he doesn't get any medical help, he's not going to tell us anything."

"He's right..." Scally whispered, trying to cover his mortal wound with his paws. "I'm going to die... Nothing changes that. Unless there's an Arcellian somewhere feeling generous..."

"Save your strength," Nick said, looking around for anything he could use to bandage the wound. "You're not dying!"

"Samedi!" Lily repeated, glaring at the dying Poké Alien. "Who is he and where is he?"

"Samedi," whispered Scally. "He's the one who tried to kill me. That Rhynix... He told me so... That's what the riot was. Cover to try and murder me to keep me from talking to you about him."

Falco had come over to listen to what was being said, the other three rangers not too far behind. Only the riot team remained impassive about what was going on, some of them already leaving.

"How the mrek did Samedi know that we were going to try and talk to you?" asked Diana. "That was top secret."

"He has... spies everywhere," Scally choked. Blood dribbled down his chin. "I don't know who he is... Only spoken to him over the comms... But, I know he's got a factory on Lurek. An abandoned Romerenko building. Sometimes... He's there. He's killed me... Make sure he doesn't get away with all he's done. Make sure he... he... he ends up in..."

He never got to finish, his head slumping to the side. The six rangers almost saw his life extinguish in front of him, his body going still.

"Damn!" Max exclaimed. "Nobody deserves to die like that. Getting badly beaten during a prison riot and then stabbed."

"Either way, he told us what we needed to know," said Lily. "That's all there is to it."

Five sets of eyes fell on her as she said it, the black ranger suddenly aware of them as she looked around.

"What?"

"Cadet Yushaa, have you ever heard the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?" asked Falco. "A potential ally died here today. I want you all to think about that. Think about why it is that we fight, what it is that we're fighting for. We're never going to completely eradicate crime, that is impossible. What we can do is ensure that guys like Samedi can't get away with acts like this..."

For effect, he gestured at the dead Simiqua.

"It's time for us to stop playing around," he said. "We're getting out of here and following the only lead we have."

"Lurek," said Sandy. "Let's get to work."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Hey, remember those things? Dark Spectres... Incidentally, remember when the Genesis Rangers got a Cress Crystal in the previous story. Well, that's where they got it from.**

**It's a bit tenuous, but hey, it gives a chance for a former character to cameo, back from the dead. A prior point in the time line before his death.**

**Quite a few Gen 5 Pokémon in here.**

**No thanks for the review comments today since there weren't any... Grrr...**

**Think we can all understand why Lily is annoyed at the end.**

**Excuse to bring back some old villains in here. Especially Darzelle. In her first appearance, there was originally going to be a brief battle between her and Falco, but it was scrapped.**

**That's amended here then.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eighteen, Plant, preview.**

**Techno 9: We are almost at Lurek.**

**Falco: Max, I've got a separate task for you.**

**Max: What is it, Sir?**

**Lily: What is this place?**

**Sandy: Terrific, it looks like we've wandered onto the set for Plant of the Living Dead 4.**

**Nick: I hated the first three.**

**Falco: We have a lead that could help us translate that map.**

**Max: I'll get right on it.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	18. Plant

Chapter Eighteen. Plant.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_In a council of war, the inhabitants on the Night Hawk discussed what they had and what they knew, eventually coming to the conclusion that they needed to hunt the being known as Samedi. After Falco consulted others in Cosmo Force, they travelled to Acathria to talk to a criminal about a deal he tried to make before he was arrested. Nick and Lily went in to try and talk to Scally about it, only for him to try and stall them. While they were doing so, a riot broke out. Nick and Lily were soon captured by former enemies, forcing the other rangers to go in after them. Even that was disturbed by a Dark Spectre escaping, which lead to Max having a strange experience. Falco managed to save Nick and Lily, defeating Darzelle in the process. Scally eventually revealed a lead on Samedi's location before dying..._

_

* * *

_

"Hey, Chebek."  
"Yeah?"  
"What's your take on life after life after death?"

"What?" the Charian asked, looking across at his Typhig companion. "What the mrek are you on about there?"

"Well, I saw that holo film earlier. Plant of the Living Dead, and..."

"You want to know if I believe in a higher power who supports the use of zombies as a problem solving device?"

"Yes."

"I don't. I think using zombies to solve your problems is a mistake."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" Chebek spluttered. "Because when the zombies get rid of your problem, you've then got to get rid of them and that could be an even bigger problem than the one you had in the first place."

"Yeah, but ignoring that as a possible consequence..." said Blister, determined to get an answer on it. "What then?"

"Oh, I think it's a good idea then if the consequences are completely ignored."

"Thank you," replied Blister. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Why were you watching Plant of the Living Dead?" Chebek asked. "Seems a strange choice."

"The fourth one comes out soon, doesn't it? They were showing it to try and gain some interest in the name of publicity."

"Not a great set of holo films, aren't they?"

"Nah, but they're terrible in a good way."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"Mr. Featherclaw. Mr. O'Roarke."

"Yes?" Golde asked, looking up to the speaker from which the Night Hawk's AI had just spoken. "What is it, Techno 9?"

"Just wanting to inform you that we are almost at Lurek. You might already know this, but thought that I'd remind you."

"Excellent," Payne said. "You ever been to Lurek before, Golde?"

"Once," answered the Aerobian. "It wasn't anything special. Was running some dry weather specialists over there. They wanted to see if the atmosphere was being affected by the adverse temperatures there."

"So, it's hot then?" asked Payne. "I've never been."

"Oh, it's perishing," Golde said. "Eighty percent of the planet's surface is blistering hot desert. The other twenty percent consists of huge domed structures, air conditioned to the max. Each contains whole cities, just like anything else that you might see in the galaxy."

"That is correct, Mr. Featherclaw," Techno 9 said. "Having scanned the planet, the current surface temperature outside is over 65 degrees Celsius."

"Mrek," said the Felaine. "Glad I'm not going down there."

"You and me both," Golde laughed. "It's because the planet is quite close to that sun."

He gestured to the giant orange sun in the distance, a beacon against the black of space. As he had said, Lurek was close to it.

"They have to redo the outer skin of the living structures every year," Techno 9 said. "Otherwise they'd melt and the place would really be in trouble."

* * *

"Ah, Rangers," said Falco, as the five cadets walked into his office. "You're here. Good."

"You did summon us, Sir," Diana pointed out. "That's why we got here as quickly as possible."

"It's nearly time, Cadets," the Aerobian said, ignoring her interruption. "We're virtually at Lurek, and hopefully we can find something out about Samedi."  
"Do we know where it is that we need to go, Sir?" Sandy asked. "Because, it's a big planet."  
"Thanks to Techno 9, we have the location that we need. You'll leave as soon as we reach the point where you can take the shuttle."

"We won't let you down, Sir," Lily said. "If he's down there on that planet, we will find him."

"To be completely honest, Cadet Yushaa, I think it's optimistic expecting to find him down there," Falco remarked. "About the best we can probably hope for is some sort of further lead to him."

"I agree with you there, Sir," said Max. "But, we can always hope for it."

"Actually, Max," said Falco, his expression moving over to the red ranger. "I've got a separate task for you. You won't be going with them."

"What is it, Sir?" Max replied, slightly puzzled by the sudden request. "Is it really necessary while we're hunting for Samedi?"

"It probably doesn't need all five of you to check that factory out," answered the Mirror Ranger. "Your task is important. We have a lead that could help us translate that map."

"We're still following that lead, are we?" Lily said, disgust in her voice. "Come on, who cares about some worn old map. I think Samedi is the bigger problem."

"You might do, Cadet Yushaa," replied the Mirror Ranger, his voice icy. "However, I believe that I'm the one deciding the assignments for you. Cadet Redwood, you'll go with them to Lurek, but you are going to meet an informant there once you have landed."

"An informant?" asked the red ranger. "If that's your choice, Sir, then I'll do it."

"Excellent, I'll pass some info on them to you when you land," said Falco. "Meanwhile, Cadet Garcia will lead the team to the chemical plant."

"It's a chemical plant?" Nick asked. "I didn't know that."

"You do now," Lily commented, dryly. "So, we need those suits that keep out the chemicals?"

"It supposedly hasn't been used for a year and a half, Miss Yushaa," Techno 9 said. "Chances are minimal of any corrosive contact."

* * *

"Whew!" Diana exclaimed, shivering as she stepped off the shuttle. "This place is cold."

"Air conditioning, isn't it," said Nick. "Because it'd be unbearable if they didn't have it. You do know how hot this planet can get at times, right?"

"Unfortunately," the yellow ranger said, seeing Max get out off the shuttle. "You going now, Max?"

"I am," he replied. "Going to go and see if I can hunt down this guy, this Merl Utreo."

"Sucks that you're not coming with us," Lily grunted. "Have I said how much I think that the map is a waste of time?"

"Once or twice," Sandy said, looking over to Max with a smile. "Hope you have the best of luck in it. If anyone can find him, you can."

"I'll get right on it," Max said, patting Sandy on the arm. "And hopefully I'll be able to meet back up with you before you finish. Good luck, guys."

Each of them saluted the other, before turning to go their own ways.

* * *

"That has to be it, right?"

The question came from Diana, the yellow ranger looking out of the window of the transport vehicle the four of them had hired to make their way across the desert surfaces of the planet. Ahead in the distance, they could see a large domed structure, a solitary building within the confines of it.

"Only building place around here," Lily said, gruffly. "These are the coordinates. What do you think?"

"Hate to say it, but she does have a point," Nick remarked. "It's not like we're blessed with creepy abandoned buildings."

From the pilot's seat, Sandy let out a laugh, one almost as dry as the desert below their vehicle.

"That's a good thing," she said. "I think it is, anyway."

* * *

Having parked up within the air conditioned dome, the four of them found themselves making their way across the stone floor towards the entrance of the factory, the huge building looming high above them.

"What do you honestly think that we're going to find here?" Nick wondered. "Because, I'm banking on a whole lot of something."

"Aren't you the optimist," said Lily. "On the one hand, I can see there being something in there. On the other, I can't help but feel like we're wasting our time here. Then again, it's probably more valid than chasing some map around."

"You're not going to let that drop, are you?" Sandy asked. "Come on, try to be optimistic. Follow Nick's lead."

"Yeah, that's just not going to happen."

Ignoring the debate, Diana pushed on ahead, moving towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open and walked inside. It didn't take long for the other three rangers to catch up, following her inside to find the yellow ranger with her Cosmo Blaster out.

"Nice decoration, huh?" Diana quipped, gesturing around the bleak grey entrance hall. All of it was cold and sterile, with the exception of a single multi-coloured painting on one of the walls. "Don't know which is more unnerving. The grey, or the colours."

There wasn't any reply. Not even the aged security cameras moved at their arrival on the scene, the building for all intents and purposes dead.

"What is this place?" asked Lily, commenting on the strange silence within the factory entrance. "And, if that Simiqua was telling us the truth, shouldn't there be at least some signs of life?"

"Not really," answered Nick. "Official records say that it's been abandoned for a while."

"Maybe they just focused on the upper floors," said Sandy. "That's probably where we should start."

"Listen to our fearless leader making choices here," quipped Diana. "Okay, lead on."

* * *

"What can I get you, honey?"

Having wandered into one of the drinking dens in the domed city where the shuttle had landed, Max smiled across at the pink skinned Draconis behind the bar. She was wearing a black top and skirt, while serving a glass of Takari to someone else.

"Can I get a Yellow Stripe?" he asked, hopefully.

"Be right up," she called back, the Dragonair-like Poké Alien floating away to take the drink to the other customer. She had the upper body and arms of a human while her head and lower body was entirely Dragonair.

He waited several moments before she returned, offering him the bottle. He took it and dropped his Cosmo Force ID badge on the bar, seeing her recoil at the sight of it.

"I'd also like some information, love," he said. "Merl Utreo. You know him?"

"We're not supposed to talk to law enforcement," she said, her voice losing all sense of friendliness. "You better finish your drink and leave before there's trouble."  
"Do you know Merl Utreo?" Max pressed. "It's important that I find him as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry, I've got customers to serve," she said, turning to float away down the bar. He momentarily considered trying to force her into answering the question, but he realised it wasn't worth it. If he got into a violent argument with her, the bouncers for the club might interfere and he didn't really want to get into a fight with a quadruple of Choklians.

With that, he picked the bottle of Yellow Stripe up, downed the contents and turned to leave.

* * *

"What were they doing here?" Lily wondered, looking up at one of the huge vats of chemicals that filled the room they were currently walking through. "Hope there's nothing corrosive in there."

"If there's any chemicals left around here, they'll probably have long since lost their potency," Sandy offered. "If that makes you feel better."

"Not really, but thanks for trying," said the black ranger. "I just don't like it here."

"You don't like it anywhere," remarked Nick. "Hated it in Acathria, hated it here... You'll probably dislike the next place we go to."

"Might not do," Lily retorted. "We might end up going to a place that I really like. Who knows. Suppose it depends on what we find here. Might get something that points us in the direction of Samedi, we go off and arrest him and then we get some time off for a job well done."

"Lily," said Diana. "Whatever you're taking that's making you that optimistic, can I have some of it. I bet you that it's not that simple."

"Mrek, you have a go at me when I'm positive, you have a go at me when I'm negative... You want me to be neutral?" the black ranger asked. "Because, I will do that. It's not beyond me."

"Nice to hear," Sandy laughed, before the four of them heard a sudden cry emerge out through the vats, all of them pausing at the melancholic sound.

"Do I have to ask what that was?" asked Nick. "Because, I think we might just have found a survivor."

* * *

Three clubs later and Max had finally managed to get a hit on the location of Merl Utreo. A drunken Sleepbear had obliged him by telling the red ranger how he had beaten him earlier that night at a game of Jackpot Hoarder. For several minutes, Max had nodded along, agreeing with everything that had been said. He had even bought the Snorlax-like Poké Alien a few more drinks, before he had finally relented and told Max where the informant usually hung out.

Having thanked him, the red ranger had reached into his pocket to bring out a handful of credits and dropped them on the table in front of the huge Poké Alien.

"Have a few more on me," he said, nodding his head back at the bar. "You've been a great help."

* * *

"There she is!" Diana exclaimed, seeing the figure. "Well, there someone is..."

She was right, there was no way to tell that the Croack in front of her was the same one who had just let out the desolate scream. Instead, the Poké Alien was stood with her back to the yellow ranger, the only sign of her gender being the torn black skirt she wore.

"Excuse me..." Diana called, trying to get her attention. "Ma'am! You okay?"

That got her attention, the figure turning around to spring at the yellow ranger. Before Diana could react, the Croack was atop her, the heavy being forcing her to the ground. The eyes were rapid and blank, blood foaming from the mouth of the Toxicroak-like Poké Alien. Those blood covered jaws snapped at her, trying to get her with their vice-like grip.

"Help!" Diana screamed, doing all she could to try and force the thing's mouth away from her, her hands clamped around its throat in an attempt of keeping it back. She tried to kick it away, only to realise her legs were pinned underneath the thing.

She saw that Nick had leaped onto the scene, the green ranger throwing a kick into the Croack's stomach. The creature let out a wet gasp and spat a mouthful of blood down. Had Diana not jerked her head aside, it would have hit her in the face. Again, Nick threw a kick at the creature, his blow hitting it in the face. It let out another wet gasp, but didn't seem to feel the blow.

"Ah, screw this!" Diana exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Her entire form began to change, the yellow ranger quickly morphing into a half grown Rhynix. With her new strength, she was able to throw the Croack off her.

Meanwhile, Sandy and Lily had arrived, the two of them seeing that more Poké Aliens showing the same bloodthirsty looks were coming towards them. A Scarena, a couple of Psorians, a Landshark, a Bluken, a Syodian, a Snaptrapper, a Stoneghost, an Ampharine... All of them were starting to arrive onto the scene.

"Guys!" Diana said, having turned back into her regular form. "Think we might have a problem."  
Lily snorted at that, bringing out her Cosmo Blaster to aim at one of the insane Poké Aliens. "Want me to solve that problem?"

She drew a bead on the Stoneghost and fired twice, both shots hitting it in the chest. Rather than putting it down, it started to move towards her even faster than it had been moving before, a shrill moan emerging from its lips.

"Think you annoyed it!" Nick yelled, bringing out his own Cosmo Blaster. He pointed it at the Bluken, meaning to shoot it in the face. Instead, his aim was off and the shot went wide, the Blaziken-like Poké Alien starting to move towards him.

"Guys!" Sandy exclaimed. "Here's a suggestion. Might be time to run."

* * *

Max knocked on the door twice. There was no response from the other side, the lack of reaction bringing a sigh of frustration from him. Again, he knocked, wondering if Merl Utero was trying to blank him on the other side.

"Merl!" he yelled, rapping his fist against the metal, this time losing his patience. "Are you in there?"

Several feet above the door, there was an open window. From where he was, it looked like it might just be narrow enough for him to get through. Taking another look, Max tensed the muscles in his legs, squatting slightly. He drew a deep breath before releasing them to move into a jump. His fingers scrabbled at the edge of the window, catching a light grip on the sill. It was enough to let him to hang there for a second. His legs kicked out at something, allowing him that momentum to pull himself up. That was when he pulled himself through the window, finding himself in the apartment.

* * *

"Mrek! Mrek! Mrek!"

"Terrific!" Sandy shouted, running from the throng of crazed Poké Aliens. It sounded like she agreed with Diana's assessment of the situation. "It looks like we've wandered onto the set for Plant of the Living Dead 4!"

"I hated the first three!" yelled Nick, turning while running to shoot his Cosmo Blaster into the crowd. His shot hit one of the insane beings in the shoulder, temporarily halting it for a few moments, before it started to run at them again. "Mrek!"

"Maybe we should get to some higher ground!" Lily howled, having to duck under an attack from one of the enemies. "Run up some stairs or something."

"Can the Dark Avenger possibly be suggesting that we run away?" Nick asked, seeing what she was getting at. There was indeed some stairs not too far away from them, offering them a possible route out.

"Shut up!" Lily barked, already moving towards the steps. "And come on."

Not hesitating, the four cadets turned to go for the stairs, making their way up them towards what they hoped was safety. And they were right because the undead Poké Aliens did not make to follow them, the group milling around listlessly at the bottom of the steps.

"Ha, how about that!" Diana crowed, punching the air. "Defeated by a set of stairs."

She turned, only to let out a yelp. The other three did the same, quickly realising what it was that she had seen.

There were more of them moving towards them.

"Oh mrek!"

* * *

Max had found the home empty. For all he knew, Merl Utreo had never lived here, there was something lifeless about the atmosphere of the place. He had gone through each room and found nothing, nothing apart from a few droplets of black blood on the floor of the kitchen.

That alone filled him with worry. Had Samedi struck again, had that mysterious figure managed to get to one of their informants. He knew very little about Merl Utreo, other than he was good at doing what he had did. Falco had spoken to him privately about the snitch and he had seen the respect in the Aerobian's eyes as he had spoken.

He took another look around, scanning the entire room with fast eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary. This was where his background as a thief came in handy, it might have been the reason why Falco had sent him to get the information.

That out of the ordinary thing finally struck him. A faintest outline of a tab card sticking from between the unit and the refriderator. He moved, quickly reaching down to pull it out.

* * *

They had somehow gotten away from it all. Despite being surrounded, the four of them had managed to pull out all of the stops to get away from the undead, moving away into an unlocked room. As the other two rangers checked that they were alone, Nick and Sandy dealt with the door, the green ranger holding it shut while Sandy started the process of hacking into the locking mechanism. It took her several seconds, frustrating the other rangers who had come back to help Nick keep the door shut against the pounding it was taking from the beings on the other side.

Finally, Sandy managed it, stepping away from the key pad to look around the room. It was very sparsely filled, only a few work benches, some boxes of chemicals and a computer on one of the benches. Other than that, it was empty.

"About time we got safe in here," Lily muttered, giving the blue ranger a reproachful look. "You took your sweet time with that."

"Sorry," said Sandy. "Guess I'm a bit rusty."

"Is that really the most important thing right now?" Diana wondered, nodding her head against the door. "If I step away now, it's not going to slam open for one of those things to try and take another bite out of me, is it?"

"You've been watching too many holo movies," said Nick. "This isn't Plant of the Living Dead. Those things did at least die."

"Thought you said that you hated them," Lily remarked. "Now you're referencing them."  
"I said that I hated them, that's correct," replied Nick. "On the other hand, I'm trying to remember stuff from here that might help us."

"So are we all agreed that they look like zombies?" Sandy asked. "The reanimated dead."

"That's what they look like and it would give a reasonable explanation as to what they are," said Diana. "But, isn't that just a story."

"Pity Techno 9 isn't here," said Nick, sarcastically. "She'd no doubt give us hundreds of examples as to when Poké Rangers fought zombies. Or failing that, probably three. Give or take."

"I've just had a horrible feeling," Lily said, suddenly. "What if this is a virus that did it to them? What if we breathed it in by coming here? What if we're going to become like them?"

"Okay, don't panic," Sandy replied, raising both hands to try and calm everyone down, seeing that general worry was starting to arise on their faces. "We don't know that. Don't think about it."

"And there's something else," Diana pointed out. "Maybe there was some staff working here. Maybe that's what happened to them. They died, but didn't stay dead."

"Now that's just morbid speculation."

"She has a point," said Lily, gesturing out to the room they were in. "This place was a chemical plant. There are chemicals here. Some of them were wearing lab coats. I think she has a point, that was the staff."

"So, what do we do then?" asked Nick. "Make a run for it, leave it behind?"

"Nah," said Sandy, moving over to the computer. "I'm going to have a quick look around and see what I can find on the system."

* * *

It had been a file, one left behind by Utreo. Max could make out the signature at the bottom, the information having been printed up by someone or something and put into a folder. With it, there was a hastily scrawled note, one which Max read first.

"I hope that the right persons finds this first," he read aloud. "But, I'm not going to reappear. This final task has put me in the firing line, the criminal figure known as Samedi has my name. How, I don't know. But I'm vanishing without a trace, I leave this report hidden so that Samedi's men might not find it. I hope that this helps bring them down, then I might be able to walk freely again."

He tossed it down onto the table, moving his attention to the more pressing contents of the folder. He didn't feel sympathy for Utreo, just rather the desire to go out and nail Samedi. Who was he and how did he know so much?

* * *

"You finding anything?" Lily asked, impatience lining her voice. "Because we don't have all day. I would like to get out of here at some point."

"I'm looking," Sandy said, dryly. "There's a lot of mrek in here, huge files of stuff that's useless. To sift through it all is going to take a while unless I get lucky. So, you might as well make yourselves comfortable."

"Comfortable?" Nick repeated, incredulously. "Are you joking? We're in an abandoned science lab with zombies outside. What are we supposed to do, kick back in our underwear and drink beer?"

"Well you can," Diana said, spitefully. "I could do with a good laugh."

"Hey!"

Before the argument could escalate, Sandy found something, the blue ranger letting out a sigh of relief.

"What is it?" asked Lily, hearing it and looking over with interest. "You got something?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Looks like..."

She read along, taking it all in, before wondering how best to explain it.

"Looks like this was some sort of group tasked to create a virus," she said, mulling over her words even as she spoke. "One which, come a battle, could turn a defeat into victory."

"They were studying ways to reanimate the dead?" Diana asked, looking revolted. "That's just wrong."

"But it makes sense," Nick said. "I mean, say you're in a battle and most of your forces get wiped out, you unleash that onto the scene and they get back up for round two. Unkillable enemy forces."

"But..." said Lily.

"What do you mean, but?" the blue ranger asked. "I haven't finished yet. Obviously, they'd need a way to control them. These things would presumably turn on anything, meaning that... Here it is."

She found the appropriate file and clicked on it, seeing it open up in front of her.

"Aha!"

"What is it?" asked Nick. "You got something helpful?"

"Maybe I can create a cure," Sandy said, looking at the computer. "Maybe I can save them all."

"Save them all?" Lily asked, the disgust audible in her voice. "Why? They're blood thirsty killers. They'll have wiped us all out by the time you've worked out how to create it."

"What's your suggestion then?" wondered Nick. "Burn the entire place down and hope that kills them? I'm sorry, there's nothing to suggest that would do it. Our Cosmo Blasters don't affect them, I don't want to get into a fight with them because hitting one of them is like whacking a brick wall. Maybe they're invincible."

"There's possibly not even the chance that the Nightfire Cannon would be able to do them in," said Diana. "Maybe we'd last a bit longer in ranger form, but who knows."

"When I say a cure," Sandy pointed out. "There is no cure from death. I want to kill the thing that's reanimating them. That should get rid of them, no problem."

"Oh..."

* * *

Max had to concede that Utreo had written the information down well. Now that he had had the chance to read things through, he felt a pang of regret that they were losing the services of a damn good informant. He knew his stuff.

"For the attention of who it may concern," he read aloud again. "This is information gathered for an unnamed client, one who asked me to find out about ancient languages and maps. Specifically, someone who may be able to read one. The client was most insistent that it was a special set of circumstances and that a fine bunch of code breakers had been otherwise unable to work it out. Now, I know someone, one of my unnamed sources who had once heard a rumour of a portal somewhere on the planet Nagrant. Beyond this portal lives a mystical being, an oracle if you like, one who legend claims can answer any question, decipher any map and foretell the future."

That was interesting at least, Max thought. That's definitely something that we can use. The planet Nagrant... I'll inform the Night Hawk when I leave here.

He carried on reading.

"At first, I thought this story to be mrek, yet I looked into it. Several informants later, I did get a confirmation that it was true, that such a portal did exist on the planet Nagrant. However, it recently closed and any attempts to reopen it have proved to be futile. Scientists have run tests on the area and have determined that it could well be opened in the right circumstances, although what they may be eludes them. Another source came from someone who claimed to have gone through the portal, saying that harsh challenges await on the other side. He was unable to complete them all, and failed in his attempts to conquer the portal. Therefore, he did not meet the oracle."

Hmmm, Max thought, seeing that was nearly the end of the report. Now we're getting somewhere.

"Whether or not this oracle exists or not cannot be said, the earliest mention of one who had met them is over a thousand years old. Can it be reliable? I don't know, but it seems to be about the only option to get the information deciphered."

There was a foot note below the writing.

"Further investigation into the portal on Nagrant turned up notes on some sort of legend attached to it. Only those touched by power can open it back up, whatever that means."

What it did mean, Max didn't know. What it could mean, he had an idea.

* * *

The other three rangers watched as Sandy bustled around the small lab, searching through the boxes of chemicals. She then checked them off against the list that was on the screen in front of her, the smile on her face growing wider by the second as she put some chemicals down next to the computer, replacing others back where she had gotten them.

"Anyone else think that she looks like she's enjoying this way too much?" Nick wondered. "Think she's taking the brainy blue ranger role a little too literally."

"Good thing you're not the brainy green ranger," retorted Sandy. "We'd all be dead by now."

Nick opened his mouth to make some sarcastic comment back at her, only for both Diana and Lily to shake their heads at him.

"I meant that in the nicest possible way," he said, quickly. "Add the word sexy to that list of brainy and blue ranger."

"Not interested," Sandy replied, her eyes focused on the computer screen. "You're not my type."

"What, because I'm not a Leafstalker?" said Nick, quickly regretting it the moment as he finished saying it. There had been no need for it, and he had done it anyway.

"I'm ignoring you," the blue ranger replied, moving over to take another look into the final box of chemicals. "This probably won't take too long to create. Just mix them together in the correct proportions..."

"How are we going to distribute this?" wondered Diana. "I mean, we can't get five or six vials of the stuff and then hurl it at them like that."

"I was just about to get to that if you'd have given me a second," answered Sandy, reaching down to her waist to bring up her Cosmo Blaster. "I was going to suggest we load it into these and fire at will."

"Good plan!" Lily exclaimed. "How long's it likely to take?"

"Well, I'm no chemist," said Sandy. "But, it might not take long. Think I can probably have it done in half an hour, give or take."

* * *

The thirty minute period passed by relatively quickly. Nick, Lily and Diana watched with quiet bemusement as Sandy went through the motions of preparing the chemical compound that was needed. Her movements were clumsy at first as she mixed together the various coloured liquids, but she gradually grew into the task, her movements becoming more adept and instinctive as she blended them together.

Finally, she stepped back away from the large beaker and examined her handiwork. Inside, a dark purple liquid bubbled away with ferocious intensity, almost as if it would explode in any moment.

"It is done," she said, glancing over to the computer screen for one final time to check that she had gotten it right. She quickly saw that both the components and the formula were correct on the screen, meaning she felt fully comfortable in going ahead with it. "Okay, let's do this!"

As one, she, Lily, Nick and Diana brought their gloved fists up and activated their morphers.

"Cosmosis!"

They transformed into their ranger suits, each of them taking out their Cosmo Blasters. Sandy quickly took them, moving over to the beaker and starting the process of filling them up. It didn't take long before she was handing them back to their rightful owners.

"Are we ready to go and set some heads rolling?" the blue ranger asked. "Metaphorically, of course."

"Time to send them back to hell," laughed Lily, turning her attention towards the door. "They're not going to know what hit them."

* * *

She was right. As the door opened up and the four rangers tore out like wildfire, the undead didn't have time to react. The Cosmo Blasters came up to fire at them, the four rangers all watching and waiting in anticipation to see if Sandy's formula had worked...

... To discover that her efforts had not been in vain. As each blast hit a member of the undead, they went down heavily, not getting back up.

"Nice work, Sand!" Nick cheered. "We all owe you one here!"  
"Let's not get cocky," Diana said, quickly. "There's still more of them yet. It's not over until they're all dead again!"

As if to prove her point, more undead Poké Aliens started to stumble onto the scene.

"Like so," said Lily, the four rangers turning to face them. "Trust you to rain on our parade, Di."

"Sure we'll all get over it," said the yellow ranger. "Open fire?"

"Open fire!" Sandy barked, nodding at her.

Countless blasts of laser fire rang out, their rake shredding through the undead Poké Aliens to take them down.

"Whatever you want to say, it's a good start," said Nick. "Let's take the rest of them down before they escape."

"They escape into the desert, they'll cook," Lily commented, sarcastically. "Might not be a bad idea."

"Can we go five minutes without wanting to burn things alive?" wondered Diana. "Or undead."

* * *

The battle had been brief. Now they had an advantage against their foes, they had set about using it to great effect. No matter the amount of undead Poké Aliens that had come at them, they had soon fallen.

And now, the four cadets stood victorious in the middle of the factory, bodies lining the floor all around them, back to the way they would have been initially before the virus had reanimated them from the state of death.

"It's hard to describe," Nick said, looking around at their handiwork. "On the one hand... Did we do a good thing here? Whoever was working here found a cure for death, whatever the side effects may have been. What do we do with it? Hand it over to the proper authorities and see if they can work out the kinks?"

"They weren't really alive again," said Sandy. "Being alive is what we are now. Talking, breathing, living... They just existed, rabidly trying to mimic life. I think this was a good thing, they can be confined to rest now, when someone comes to clean up, they can be buried and..."

"What are we going to do about this?" asked Lily. "I mean, we've obviously got to tell Falco about it, but I'm going back to what Nick said. Should this sort of data ever see the light of day?"

"Mrek it," Diana said. "It's not our decision. All we can do is turn it over to whoever comes to clean up. What I'm more interested in is Samedi. I think it's safe to say that this is a dead end. Literally. Maybe this was what the Simiqua meant. Maybe one of these guys could have told us about him. That's why they were killed. To stop them from talking, and for their remains to tear apart anyone who came here."

"This is really starting to annoy me," Lily said. "How the mrek is Samedi doing this? How is he managing to anticipate our moves before we can put them into play?"

"It could be plain blind luck," Sandy remarked. "Although, I doubt it. If it keeps up, questions are going to have to be asked."

She sighed, before putting her Cosmo Blaster back in its holster.

"Either way, let's just get out of here. This place is starting to depress me."

* * *

"I'm sorry to hear about this, Commandant Griote," the Disastara on the screen said. "I'm sorry that we can't be more help, but for all we knew that property was empty."  
"Mr. D'Suyi, I'm not saying that you did," Falco replied. "I felt that you should know that your property was being used for a purpose that while not illegal is certainly immoral and illicit."

"I shall inform Mr. Romerenko immediately," the Disastara said. "This is worrying, I hate to have to cause him distress with this knowledge. We shall check all our other properties and ensure that something like this isn't happening again."

"There is one thing that I wouldn't mind knowing," Falco said. "That property is owned by you, correct?"

"Yes."

"You had no knowledge that it was being used for such a purpose?"

"No."

"Why would you keep a property like that on your books if it wasn't being used. Why was it not demolished or used for something else?"

"Commandant Griote," D'Suyi said, softly. "Don't think anything into it, please. We closed it down eighteen months ago. We were going to update it, put in new equipment, redecorate the place. However, such is the case in the business world, our finances took a slight downward turn. We're not poor by any stretch, but to do such an act, especially taking the required equipment to Lurek would have set us back several hundred million credits. At the same time, there were other more pressing issues that needed to be attended to. Mr. Romerenko made the decision to sit on it for a few years and see where we went from there."

"I see," Falco replied. "I wasn't insinuating anything. You'll have to excuse my lack of business knowledge, I was just wondering about it."

"It's not a problem," said D'Suyi. "If I were in your shoes, I'd probably ask the same thing. Anything else?"

"Not right now," answered the Aerobian. "But, if I think of something, I will be in touch. Thanks for the time."

"Oh no, thank you," the Disastara said. "You informed us of a problem, one which we weren't aware of. Farewell, Commandant Griote."

The screen went dead in front of him, leaving the Aerobian pensive. Everything that had just been said made perfect sense. Yet, there was something that he couldn't place, something wrong with the scene.

He was broken out of the musing by the voice of Techno 9, the AI speaking to him.

"Mr. Griote, Mr. Redwood is waiting to see you," she said. "Shall I tell him to come in?"

"Thank you," Falco replied. "Let's see what he's got to say."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Yep. Zombies.**

**All those years playing Resident Evil weren't wasted, it seems.**

**That has to be worrying. That Samedi seems to be able to stay one step ahead of them.**

**Anyway, it looks like they at least know where to go next. **

**Thanks for the reviews. Seriously all appreciated.**

**Sandy saves the day. Eventually.**

**The next one is entitled Island, and the preview is below.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Nineteen, Island, preview.**

**Max: You want to read it?**

**Falco: It sounds such a fantastic tale, too unbelievable to be true.**

**Techno 9: We are approaching the coordinates that the informant gave us.**

**Sandy: A tear in reality. Who knows what could happen if we go in there.**

**Max: Guess we're going to have to take a leap of faith.**

**Diana: Who are you?**

**?: I was a ranger in 22nd century Johto.**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	19. Island

Chapter Nineteen. Island.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After the death of Scally the Simiqua convict in Acathria, the rangers followed his tip, moving over to the planet Lurek. Before they left, Falco split the group up, sending Max to hunt down an informant, while Sandy and the other rangers went to check out the factory where information about Samedi supposedly was. They went there, only to be attacked by undead Poké Aliens, ones that they couldn't defeat with conventional weapons. They retreated, where Sandy managed to hack into a computer and recreate the formula to defeat them. At the same time, Max found out that the informant had vanished, but had left a report behind for him. One that gave them a lead on how to decipher the map. Finally, Falco spoke to one of the senior Romerenko employees to give him the bad news as to what had happened to one of their factories..._

_

* * *

_

"So, you're telling me that Utreo vanished without a trace?" asked Falco, his beak curling in displeasure at the news. "That's unfortunate, he was a good informant."

"I can tell that by the report that he left behind, Sir," Max said. "You want to read it?"

"I think that it would probably be for the best, Cadet Redwood," answered the Aerobian, as he reached out to take the file from Max. "Let me see it."

The red ranger gave it away willingly, watching his superior officer read through it with interest.

He waited several minutes, seeing that Falco was apparently intent on reading it several times, just to ensure that he got the general gist of what it was about. Eventually, the Aerobian set it down and looked at him with a perplexed expression.

"I honestly don't know what to make of it, Cadet Redwood," he said. "It sounds such a fantastic tale, too unbelievable to be true."  
"But what if it is, Sir?" asked Max. "What if this could be our only chance of finding out what that map says?"

"Look at it from my point of view, Max," the Mirror Ranger said. "Am I really to go to my superiors and say that we're going to chase something that could well be a myth?"

"Actually, I was going to suggest that you keep it quiet," replied Max. "We go to Nagrant and look around. If we don't find anything, you don't report it. If we do, you take the slap on the wrist for not informing them, but if it's something really useful, I can't see them being too angry."

"I suppose there is a certain degree of free reign for a situation like this," said Falco. "That's what we shall do. I'll have Techno 9 inform the cockpit of our plans, we will head there immediately."

"Glad to hear it, Sir."

"The five of you get some rest," the Aerobian said, narrowing his eyes at him. "If these challenges are as tough as the report claims, I want you all in tip top condition."

"Yes, Sir!"

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"Were there really zombies, or was that just a crazy lie?" Max asked, finishing the act of putting on his uniform. "Because I couldn't quite tell."

"In the loosest sense of the word, they weren't zombies," answered Nick. "But, they were revived corpses on the loose, pretty violent and hard to destroy. So they weren't like what they are in the holo films."

"Really?"

"Not in the slightest," Nick said. "They're like two separate species."

"Suppose it's an interesting comparison between myth and fact," mused Max. "That might be the only good thing that you can get out of it."

"If that's the only good thing we can get out of it..." Nick started to say, rolling his eyes. "I consider the fact that we got out of it alive a good thing."

"That right?"

"Of course it is."

Before the argument could continue, the two rangers were alerted by the sound of Techno 9 piping up from the speaker in the corner of the room.

"Mr. Griote wanted me to let you know that we are approaching the coordinates that the informant gave us," the AI reported. "He wants the five of you to meet him down in the shuttle dock as quickly as possible."

"Guess we're going to land on Nagrant then," said Nick. "Max, can I ask you a question?"

"Go on."

"You really think this is a worthwhile mission?"

"Honestly?" the red ranger asked, narrowing his eyes. "I don't know. Every story has a basis of fact somewhere. This could be one of those things."

"Guess we got to hope, huh?"

* * *

"You all know what your mission is, correct?" Falco asked, looking across the five of them. "Because the report said something about a portal, I am remaining here in case urgent assistance is needed somewhere."

"Seems like a sound plan," said Lily. "Why don't all of us remain here on that footing."

"You think this mission is a waste of time, Cadet Yushaa?" asked the Aerobian. "If you do, speak freely and quickly."

"I said it before, Sir," she replied. "I think we could do better than chasing a myth."

"And I told you before, Cadet, that we have nothing else to go on. If you can suggest a viable alternative, a place to go and an enemy to target, then we'll do it."

"If only it was that easy," said Diana. "For one, I think this is a good idea. Even if it turns out to be complete mrek, we'll at least get to visit Nagrant. Spend a few hours on one of the beaches, enjoy some of the local chatter and...

"Cadet Camerons, if the mission turns out to be a bust, I expect you to return here as quickly as possible."

"Oh."

"If that's all, then shall we leave?" Max asked. "Only one way to find out if it's accurate intelligence or not."

* * *

"Can I just say how much I regret that I've never been to Nagrant before?" asked Nick, the green ranger wearing a pair of sunglasses as he walked along with the other rangers. "This place is really nice."

Most of the planet Nagrant was water, only about 20% of it was rich luscious land fresh for growing tropical plants. As a result, it was quite a hot place, a popular trip for galactic residents to go on holiday.

"I told you it was," said Diana. "Did that report tell us where to go?"

"It did," Max answered, raising his head up to look around the environment, his eyes eventually falling on a temple in the distance, a big white building with a golden spired roof and purple drapes across the walls next to the entrance. "The Temple of Bar-tuk-la. Which I believe is over there."

"So, it's not that far a walk?" asked Sandy, a smile flashing across her face. "Sweet."

"Speak for yourself," Lily grumbled, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she panted. "I'm roasting here."

* * *

Half an hour later, they found themselves walking into the temple, the inside just as pristine as the exterior had been. In predictable fashion, it was also empty of the phenomenon that they had come down to investigate.

"Come on," said Max, looking around at the way the other cadets faces had dropped. "This is only to be expected, Utreo did say that the portal was closed and only those touched by power would be able to open it up."  
"And you know what that's supposed to mean?" asked Lily, sarcastically. "Because it's about as clear as mud to the rest of us."

"What do we have that virtually no other beings in the galaxy have?" Max said, giving her a look of barely concealed disbelief. "Come on, think about it."

"Well, there is that one thing," said Lily, narrowing her eyes at him to try and return the expression. "We're all stupid enough to come down here and look for something that probably doesn't exist. There's probably nobody else likely to do that, huh?"

"She has a point," Nick said. "It's small and ill defined, but it is there."

"Are you two deliberately being obtuse?" Sandy wondered, bringing her hand up. "We have the ability to morph, we're Poké Rangers. Out of that huge galaxy, who else can claim that?"

"Oh, that," said Lily. "So, you've got to be a Poké Ranger to open it... That makes no sense."

"Maybe it's a metaphor," Diana suggested. "You've got to be all noble and be doing it for the right reasons, that sort of stuff. Because, that could have been written at a time when that was essentially what a Poké Ranger was. Looking at us all now, especially at Lily, it's hard to believe that still applies."

"Hey!" protested the black ranger. "I resent that comment."

"I don't care," said Diana. "I'm standing by it."

"Don't make me separate you," Max warned, giving them both dark looks. "I'm not in the mood for it. Instead, how about we conduct a forensic investigation, find anything that could be used to open up whatever it is that we're looking for."

"Sounds like a good plan, doesn't it?" said Nick. "Now, the only problem is where to start."

* * *

Ironically enough, it was actually Lily who found what was needed to open the portal up, the black ranger running her morpher across a piece of marble brick in the wall, one which reacted to the presence of the device. The five rangers all looked around to watch in relief as the shining white portal, a rip in the fabric of reality tore open in front of them.

"Think that might be it?" asked Diana, moving closer to it. She could feel the expulsion of energy bustling across her skin, forcing her back. It didn't hurt, it just felt... Strange.

"A tear in reality," Sandy said, sarcastically. "Who knows what could happen if we go in there."

"Guess we're going to have to take a leap of faith," Max muttered. "I'm game if you all are."

"Lead on, fearless leader," Nick quipped, taking a step back behind the red ranger. "We're all behind you."

Letting loose a groan, Max stepped forward away from him, breaking into a run towards the portal. As he closed in on it, the other rangers made to chase after him, the five of them vanishing through the tear in reality.

One by one, they passed through it, the portal glowing with their ranger colour as they went through, until the last one vanished through.

Then, it closed behind them, leaving no way for them to get back out of there.

* * *

As they passed through time and space, each member of the five heard a deep voice let out a booming laugh of enjoyment at their escapade, something that they barely had time to absorb before it began to speak.

"Congratulations," it said, the playful laughter still embedded within it. "You have passed the first test. Two remain, two challenges for you to conquer. Challenge number two is to find your spirit guide, the third test shall remain a surprise."

Then, it all went black.

* * *

She was so comfortable. The sand was wrapping around her like an expensive drape, something so warm and relaxing, especially with the added sensation of the sun beaming down towards her, the sounds of the sea in the background...

Wait, the sounds of the sea?

That alone was enough to jerk Sandy up out of her relaxed position, finding herself sat on a beach somewhere. She looked around frantically, trying to see if there was any trace of the others, only to realise that it was futile. On one side of where she lay, there was the roaring ocean, a barrier between her and the rest of the world, while on the other, she could see probably thousands of trees, the peak of a small mountain rising up above them. It then occurred to her that she could well be on an island, it made sense. As she ran her eyes across the coastline as far as she could see, there was nothing but water, no sign of any other life.

And of any of her fellow cadets.

She was alone. And alone, how was she to find her spirit guide?

One thing was for certain, she thought, getting to her feet. I'm not going to find them sat here on a beach. Might as well go looking for them, they'll probably come across me when I least expect them. Maybe I should head for that mountain, if I'm on an island, then it'll be about the centre point. That's usually where everything goes down.

Nodding at her own logic, she started her walk. It was as she stepped into the woods she noticed her morpher was missing from her hand, something to worry her.

* * *

Lily wasn't in the greatest mood she'd ever been in. After waking up on the beach of whatever island she was on, she'd gone into the forest and now she found herself lost with no way of turning back. Above her, she could see the tip of the mountain, yet no matter how much she tried to move towards it through the woods, it always seemed to remain the same distance away.

It had then struck her that she probably wasn't going to be able to get to it without the aide of her spirit guide, meaning that she had gone looking for whoever that was.

Taking a step through the gap between the trees, Lily heard a laugh up ahead of her. Immediately stung by the sound, she managed to squeeze on through, scanning around for the source of the mirth. She eventually found it, her eyes settling on someone stood leaning against one of the trees, watching her. If she'd had to have guessed, she'd have said that the girl was about fourteen years old, maybe a little older, possibly a bit younger.

"Hi," said the girl, brightly. She had black hair, while her eyes were green. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with a blue tank top, a blue skirt and pink socks with black rims, as well as a pair of white sneakers. "What's happening with you? Are you lost?"

"What's it to you?" Lily demanded. "Do I look lost?"

"Oh, okay then," said the girl, the sarcasm audible in her voice. "You must be doing an impression of someone lost then. My mistake."

For a moment, Lily was stunned by the way the comeback had been fired at her, before she broke out into a smile.

"Nice," she said. "Good one. I take it that you're my spirit guide?"

"I'm your what?" asked the girl. "Well, I don't know about that. I'm just waiting here... It's a hard life."

"I can imagine," replied Lily. "What's your name?"

"Ricky," answered the girl. "Maybe I'm waiting for my brother, maybe for a friend. What about you?"

"I'm actively looking for someone to help me find my way through this place towards the mountain," Lily said. "It's like a maze in here. A really annoying one."

"Oh, I can help you with that," replied Ricky. "That's no problem, I'll show you the way I came in here. It's only a ten minute walk."

"Really, you're going to do that for me?" asked Lily. "Why? What about your friend? Or your brother?"

"They can wait," said Ricky. "They've kept me waiting for a while, life's tough like that."

"I couldn't agree more," the black ranger said. "Okay, lead on."

* * *

The two of them walked for a while, Ricky looking like she wanted to talk, but thought better of it as she saw the uninterested look on her companions face. Finally, she got bored of the silence and broke into a conversation.

"So..." she said. "You're part Mightyena."

"Part what?" asked Lily. "Actually, my father was half human, half Blackhound. A Mightyena is the non sentient stage of a Blackhounds evolution, the lowest point. If you consider what humans could have evolved from, it's the same thing, more or less."

"So, you're a Poké Morph?" Ricky said. "Well, your dad was anyway. That's cool. I mean... Well, sort of. Where I come from, Holon, Poké Morphs are really distrusted because they formed an evil gang of criminals. Although, not all of them were bad. My friend, Claese... Wow. He was a good one."

"You got a crush on someone named Claese?" Lily asked, smiling at her to see the way her cheeks lit up. "Nice."

"I never said that," Ricky protested. "There's other good Poké Morphs too... Like that singer from Rangerz and... And... And... Combyna?"

"Sorry, all of this is going straight over my head," Lily admitted. "What's a Combyna?"

"That's what I said at first, too," said Ricky. "Ah, he's a cool guy. For the most part, anyway. Bit weird, but he's came through for us when we were fighting Team Chronos' Castle Ultrazord."

"What?" Lily exclaimed, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "You're a ranger?"

"Partly," Ricky admitted. "I shared the morpher with my brother, Joshua. He kinda died and I took the morpher to avenge him. When he returned to life, I shared it with him. At that point, there were two Black Mightyena Rangers."

"Mightyena Ranger, huh?" Lily said, smiling again. "Coincidence. I am too."

"You're a ranger?" Ricky asked. "No way, that's awesome. What are you currently fighting? Bunch of mutant losers?"

"Nah, possessing black shadowy evil from a galaxy far far away."

"Ah, like Star Wars?"

"What? Stop making these references, you're starting to make me uncomfortable."

"Okay, I swear I will," said Ricky. "I swear on my family name of Yushaa that I'll try to stop doing it."

One part of the sentence brought Lily stock still, the Black Poké Power Ranger unable to not notice her reaction.

"What? What is it?"

* * *

Although he didn't know it, Nick had decided to follow the same sort of path as the other two rangers, moving into the woods to try and get over to the mountain in the distance. Like the others, he had found himself thinking that it was probably his best chance of meeting back up with his fellow cadets and getting out of here.

He had spent several minutes wandering around the place when he heard a sound ring out, the sound of blade against wood. His interest piqued, he broke into a run into the direction of the sound, eventually coming across the source. He discovered it was a teenage boy hacking away at a small tree with a machete, whistling a small subtle tune as he did. Nick watched for several moments, seeing that the boy had dark, reddish brown hair and eyes in a similar colour, while wearing a black t-shirt which had a leaf symbol on it, a pair of old-style jeans fashioned from a material no longer made anywhere in the galaxy, as well as steel-toe boots and a strange looking wrist-watch.

Although it was against his better judgement, the chance that he could turn out to be his spirit guide spurred him on, forcing him to step out onto the trail, a grin on his face.

"Hi there," he said, brightly. "How's it going?"

Hearing him, the boy tossed the weapon away into the trees, a dull thud ringing out as it hit something, before turning to face him.

"Pretty good," he replied. "You?"

"I've had worse days. Had some better ones as well," Nick answered. "You cutting some wood?"

"Well, I was before being interrupted. It's part of a challenge for something," the boy replied. "Presumably you're passing through here, looking for something?"

"I'm trying to get to that mountain," said Nick, gesturing to it high above the outline of the trees. "But, it's... You ever feel like you can't get to something despite the fact it's right in front of you?"  
"Not really," he answered. "But, it's not that hard to find, I came from there. If you want, I'll take you the way I came, should get you there."

"Would you do that?" Nick asked, suspiciously. "What's in it for... Ah, now I get it. Are you my spirit guide?"

"Yeah, I am," the boy answered, grinning. "You figured me out. I'm Kurtis."

"Good to meet you, Kurtis," Nick said. "You okay to leave right now, I get the feeling that time is an issue. Plus, I need to try and find my friends as well."

"Ah, friends," said Kurtis. "I remember my friends... We had some great times together, fighting evil."

"You too, huh?" asked Nick. "That's interesting. Tell me more."

"I was a ranger in twenty second century Johto," Kurtis said, shrugging. "Green ranger twice. Guess it's my lucky colour. We fought, we won, that's pretty much the story. Then I went on a journey afterwards to become a champion."

"I heard about stuff like that," Nick replied. "When humans on Earth used to go on a journey with Pokémon, travel around and all that."

"You mean they don't do that any more?"

He genuinely sounded upset about it.

"So, why were you cutting wood?" Nick asked, looking over at the damaged tree. "Seems such a strange thing to do."

"Well, I actually met up with an Elite Four member who had a cabin out in the woods. Unfortunately, she was feeling a bit ill, so she sent me and Kris out to get some wood for her on the promise that we could have a double battle with her when she got better."

"Ah... I didn't understand a word of that, but okay."

* * *

Diana thought that she heard something ahead of her, the sound of something bouncing against something else. Something hard meeting against something harder, a sound that she couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, it seemed out of place, meaning that it was probably worth investigating.

That was where she found herself now, a makeshift stone court in the middle of the woods. Whatever she had expected to find out here, this wasn't it. Stood in the middle of the court, tossing a basketball up at a makeshift hoop nailed against a tree.

"That's unusual," the yellow ranger said, not quite believing what she could see. "Really unusual."

Her remark was enough to bring the figure around, the girl bouncing the basketball in front of her. She had long brown hair and eyes, and wore a pair of baggy jeans in addition to a white T-shirt and a yellow basketball shirt with the number twenty five across it, as well as a pair of white trainers with yellow streaks on them.

"What is?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her. "Huh?"

"Just seems like this is a little... What's the word? Out of place," said Diana. "You don't expect anything like this in the woods. More in cities... I think."

"You think?" the girl asked, laughing a little. "Really? I feel so reassured that you clearly know what you're talking about."

"Hey... I'm an officer of the law," said Diana. "Show some respect."

"Really, you're an Officer Jenny?" the girl asked, grinning. "Wow, they got different."

"A what in the what?"

"That's about the only sign of authority that exists where I come from," said the girl. "That and the International Police with their crazy-accented agents."

"I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you're saying," Diana replied. "I'm with Cosmo Force. Interplantary justice and investigation."

"Why me?" the girl asked, mock sarcastically. She brought the ball up and tossed it over to Diana who caught it. "You play?"

"Play what?" asked Diana. "I'm decent at TechBall."

"This is basketball," said the girl. "The taller you are, the better. Other than that, it's a game of skill."

"Oh really...?" wondered Diana, a smile flickering across her face as she closed her eyes. Concentrating, she activated her morphing ability, imagining herself to grow nearly two feet taller. Opening her eyes, she saw herself towering over the other girl.

"Like that?"  
"That's quite interesting," said the other girl. "Tell you what. Sink it through that hoop and I'll lead you to where you need to be."

"What?" asked Diana, before it struck her. "You're... You're my spirit guide?"

"Apparently so," said the girl. "Either that, or I'm waiting for someone. Offer still stands."

The Yellow Cosmo Ranger let out a weak smile before closing her eyes briefly. Quickly, she opened them back up again and focused on the makeshift basketball hoop.

"How hard can it be?" she asked, smiling as she brought the ball back and tossed it straight through, the action causing the other girls jaw to drop.

"What the...?" she said. "Okay, that had to be a fluke."

"You tell me your name and I'll tell you how I did it on the way to where we need to go," said Diana, shrugging. "Tit for tat."

"The name's Jenna," the other girl said. "Jenna Whitestone. Now, if you'll just follow me..."

* * *

These woods were quite unlike anything that Sandy had ever. Come to think of it, she thought, are they even woods or are they a jungle? Is this how bored I am now, I'm trying to distinguish?

Her musing was soon interrupted, the lone sound of snoring in the distance.

Is that the wildlife? She wondered, looking around the immediate vicinity. Some sort of creature that communicates by snoring away. Her immediate thought was that it might well be a Sleepbear, but that was ridiculous. If one of them was around here, she'd have probably seen another sign of it by now, trees stripped of fruit and a massive frame sleeping somewhere close by.

What she did see, as she looked up ahead of her, the gaze rising up into the trees, was a hammock. And, there was someone there inside it.

"Hello!" shouted Sandy, realising that this might well be a chance she couldn't pass up. "Who's there?"

For several moments, nothing happened. Then the snoring stopped, an annoyed face appearing over the side to look down at the blue ranger.

"What?"

"Hi, hi there!" she called up. "Any chance that you can come down here, I want to talk to you."

She heard an annoyed grunt emerge through the air, before the figure rolled away out of her hammock, landing gracefully on the ground in front of her. The woman was wearing a white lab coat over a blue shirt and jean skirt combo, while also completing her attire with a red tie and a pair of black boots. She also had long blue hair, the breeze blowing it out behind her. Folding her arms, she raised a bemused eyebrow at Sandy.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Why were you sleeping in a hammock?" the Blue Cosmo Ranger asked, forgetting her real purpose for a moment. "Seems random."  
"Nah, it's natural out here," the woman said, sweeping a hand out to try and prove a point. "Because this place is otherwise just full of nice comfy bunks."

"Okay, point taken," Sandy said. "I'll rephrase it. Why were you sleeping?"

"Because I was tired. And I was waiting for someone and got bored of it."

"So you went to sleep?"

"Well, there wasn't really anything else to do. It's not like I can break anything," the woman answered. "I suppose I could do the dance of the flying cake, but that just gets boring after a while."

"The dance of the flying cake?"

"So what about you?" the woman asked. "What are you doing here? Other than interrupting my nap."

"Ah, I'm actually looking for a way to the centre of the island," said Sandy, pointing up to the mountain. "Don't suppose that you can show me the way to it, can you?"

"What's in it for me?" the woman wondered, a small grin moving across her face. "Huh?"

"Well, I can..."

"Nah, I'm joking," she said, offering out a hand. "It's no problem. Hey, one ranger to another, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" wondered Sandy, moving to accept the gesture and shake her hand. "One ranger to... Are you a Poké Ranger?"

"Was," the woman answered. "A long time ago... If you really want to know, then I'm Claire. Look me up, I've probably been recorded for posterity."

"Maybe I'll look you up in the archives of really modest people."

"Yeah, that might be an idea," said Claire, smiling at the joke. "But anyway, you still want to go to that mountain? It's a bit of a walk away, but it's worth it."

"That'd be excellent then," Sandy replied, gesturing out in front of her. "Lead on at your leisure."

"Just what I like to hear."

* * *

It felt to Max like he had been walking for ages when he spotted the buildings up ahead. His hope renewed, he began to run towards them, the knowledge that he might have found something fuelling him on. He soon got there, discovering it might have been a settlement once. There were about ten burnt out stone buildings there, situated within a circle. In the middle of that circle, he saw someone, a lone figure sat there on the grass staring off into space.

As he got closer, Max managed to get a better look at him, seeing who he was. He had light brown hair and green eyes and was built like a runner. He wore an open black leather jacket above a red vest, his black pants had red vertical stripes down the legs, while he also wore a pair of white sneakers.

"Ahoy there," said the red ranger, his call attracting the attention of the man. "Everything okay?"

With a smile, the figure started to get up, stretching out his arms as he climbed to his feet.

"Never better," he answered. "It's a lovely day and I'm contemplating limbo here."

"Limbo?" asked Max. "What do you mean?"  
"Should I stay or should I go?" replied the man. "Could stay here in the circle of what I know, or I could get out into the big wide world and see what it holds. Not the first time I've had that dilemma, it really isn't."

"Sounds interesting," Max said. "What are you really doing here?"

"Thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Why are you out here?" the man asked, not letting up his intense stare. "Come on, you can tell me."

"I'm looking for someone or something," said the red ranger. "Apparently, I'm on some sort of vision quest, looking for some sort of spirit guide. They weren't big on the details."

"Ah, the metaphorical they," the man said, nodding. "Always tricky, huh? No great deal of information, no prior briefing, they just drop you in at the deep end and want you to swim your way out of it. Well, I tell you what... If I see anything that could relate to a vision quest for you, I'll point it in your direction."

"Oh okay then," said Max, already making to walk on past the buildings. "Thanks."

He had gotten about twenty feet away from the circle when it struck him. Mentally kicking himself, he quickly turned on the spot to run back, eventually finding himself eye to eye with the strange man.

"Wait a second!" he exclaimed. "How do I know you're not my vision quest thing?"

"To be honest, I was questioning if you'd work it out as well," said the man, holding out a hand. "But, you got it. Very good."

"Thanks," said the red ranger, returning the gesture to shake his hand. "I'm Max, in case you didn't already know."

"Nice to meet you, Max," he said. "My name is Crane. Crane Edwards."

"Yeah?" asked the Red Cosmo Ranger. "So... Do you know a way to the centre of this place?"

"This island?" Crane said, sweeping out his arms around the area. "Of course I do. You want to go there?"  
"That'd be helpful," said Max. "Can you really show me?"

"Follow me," answered Crane. "It's not that far."

* * *

Not too much time had passed when they reached the end of the jungle, Crane speaking up to break the silence.

"There you go," he said, pointing to the mountain high above them. "Just a little further to go for you."

"I see," Max said, walking on past him to try and see if Crane was right. The Red G-Force Ranger was, as he looked out into the clearing ahead of him, he saw the base of the mountain, the area completely deserted.

Stepping out into that clearing at the base of the mountain, he turned to thank Crane, only to see that the Red G-Force Ranger had vanished. Still he did it anyway, whispering a silent word of gratitude before carrying on out into the clearing.

"Max!"

It was then that he heard someone shout his name, turning to see Sandy stood there across from him. He looked around further, Nick, Lily and Diana all coming on out of the woods and making their way towards him.

"You all made it!" he exclaimed, the five rangers moving together into a group hug. "Damn, I missed you guys."

"We've been apart all of an hour," said Lily, sarcastically. "We've spent more time apart when we've been asleep on the Night Hawk."

"Yeah, but it does feel like longer," Sandy pointed out. "I know what he's feeling."

"Think we passed the second challenge?" asked Diana. "If that's the case, what do you think the third challenge is?"

They found out soon enough. Almost as if it had heard her, a creature that resembled a giant silver Boldore sprang down from the cliff, landing in the clearing with them, clear menace carved into its features.

"Oh mrek!" Lily exclaimed. "Anyone want to bet that guy is the third challenge?"

"He's pretty big," Sandy muttered, seeing that the enemy was at least twice as tall as any of them. "How we going to do this? It's not like we can morph..."

"We might not be able to morph," Max said. "But, we do have power. We've come this far, I'm not letting some overgrown Boldock take us down here! Who's with me?"

Behind him, the other four rangers all let out cheers, celebrations that lasted all of a few seconds before the Boldore blasted them with a Power Gem, the blast exploding into the ground at their feet, throwing them up into the air before they came crashing down.

"Okay..." Max conceded. "Rushing head on at it might not be the best idea."

"You think?" asked Lily, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes, I'm so glad you're our leader. Nobody states the obvious quite like you."

"Nah, the reason I'm the leader is because I have a plan," Max said, just as sarcastically. "Here's what we're going to do..."

"Okay, let's do it!"

* * *

At his own shout, Max ran towards the giant Boldore, his hair on fire. Seeing that its attention moved towards him, he brought up his hands to launch a giant stream of fire towards it. Given that it was a rock type, the attack didn't do too much damage but it did succeed in annoying it. It started to lumber towards him, the creature might have got to him had Sandy not darted behind it to grab one of its legs and prevent it from moving, fully utilising her cyborg strength to stop it in its tracks.

Letting out a roar, the Boldore was unable to turn, instead shooting a Power Gem towards Max. The red ranger leaped up, a giant jump to evade the blast, before Nick sprang onto the scene. The green ranger morphed into his Geckile form, leaping towards the face of the rock type Pokémon. Activating his leaf blades, he slammed them into the face of the creature and leaped clear, a roar following him as he dived out of the way. Now, the diamond shaped mouth was opened, a clear target to hit.

Which was when Lily came onto the scene, summoning up an orb of poison within her mouth. Taking careful aim, she spat, sending the projectile straight up through the air towards the wide open mouth, the poison sailing down its throat. As it hit its stomach, the Boldore's entire body began to steam and shake, the creature stricken by the stuff.

Finally, Nick came back onto the scene, Diana in his arms. Still in his Geckile form, he launched himself up into the air, his arms throwing the yellow ranger up into the air with all their might. He and the other three rangers watched with anticipation as she flew through the sky, managing to manouver herself above the Boldore...

"Hope this works," she muttered to herself as she started to fall.

... Before starting to transform herself. In the seconds that passed, her body shifted into a giant mallet, one three times the size of the Boldore. The creature could only look up in shock as the weapon came crashing down on top of it, the intense weight crushing it.

The four rangers heard a pleased little sound emerge from the mallet as Diana shifted herself back into her normal form, the yellow ranger dusting herself off as she jumped off the body of the Boldore.

"Hate transforming into inanimate objects," she complained, looking over to them all. "It just makes me feel strange."

"Ah, get over it," said Lily. "Nice job though."

"I think it was all in the planning," Diana replied. "Although that would be doing myself down a bit."

"Excuse me?" Sandy said, not sounding impressed. "Who was the one who held it in place while you guys could all do that?"

"You know what, let's just go back to what was originally said," Max interrupted. "Great team work, guys. We all did this together, without ranger powers. I think we ought to be pretty proud of ourselves here. Now, all it takes is finding out where to go from here..."

As if it had heard him, another portal ripped open, a blue crack in reality appearing across the clearing in front of them

"I love it when mrek lines up like that," said Nick.

From the void, the five of them heard the same voice as had spoken to them earlier before they had arrived on the island.

"Congratulations," it said, a booming tone ringing out around the area. "You have passed the three trials. You have managed to find your way here, you have found your spirit guardians and you have defeated a foe who should have had the advantage over you. For that, I applaud you all. Now please, step into the void and claim your reward."

"We buying this?" wondered Lily. "Or, should we treat it the way we treat everything that's suspicious?"

"Nah, I don't think extreme prejudice is going to work here," Max said. "But, just for the record, I think walking on into it is the best thing that we can do. It's not like there's anything more it can throw at us."

"Besides," Nick commented, dryly. "If it does, we'll beat the mrek out of it some more."

"Oh, I like that plan then," said Diana. "Lead on, someone."

Shaking his head, Max stepped forward and began to move towards the portal, deep breaths drawn as the other cadets soon made to follow him, eventually catching up

As one, they arrived at the portal, looking at each other for one final time. Then, they stepped inside it, immediately feeling the now familiar sense of teleportation rush through their system.

* * *

Almost as soon as they had vanished from where they were before, they reappeared in five flashes of light, red, blue, black, green and yellow. They found themselves in a strange circular room, the floor fashioned out of black stone, while the walls were a dark grey and covered in faint traces of moss. Stood in the middle of the room, at the exact centre, was a medium sized man wearing a grey three piece suit and purple tie. He had dyed blond hair and blue eyes, while he also had a black watch-like item with several multicoloured buttons on it.

"Is this over now?" Lily wondered, glancing around the room, trying her best to ignore the man, someone who she had to eventually acknowledge.

"Are you another challenge, or are we at the end of it all?" asked Sandy, focusing on him.

"My name is Zoma," said the figure, his eyes flashing across them all with quietly bemused interest. "I am the one who created this construct, the one with which you have just passed with flying colours."

"We passed?" asked Nick. "That's brilliant!"

"You also interrupted me!" snapped Zoma. "Don't do that!"

Slightly taken aback, the green ranger began to mutter a few apologies, something that Zoma seemed to accept before starting to speak again.

"Now, as you may or may not guess," he said. "I am the 'oracle' that the legends speak of, the one who will do all various wonderful things to your hearts desire. Within reason, I do have morals and standards."

"Mr. Zoma..." Max said. "We have..."

"Just Zoma," replied the figure. "No last name. However, I know who you are. Ever since you entered my construct, I've been monitoring you. Found out what I can about you... Have to say I thought the Cosmo Force mainframe would be easier to get into. You're Max, Sandy, Lily, Nick and Diana. And, I also happen to know that you are Poké Rangers. You like my little view of the past? Have a spiritual encounter which results in meeting long dead rangers."

"Yeah, it was terrific," Lily replied. "Was that girl Ricky really my ancestor?"

"You've come all this way," Zoma said, a small smile on his face as he looked at her. "Is that really the one question that you want me to answer? I doubt it. Which brings me to ask what it is that you want?"

"Don't you know?" Diana asked. "Thought you were an oracle."

"Nah, just an immortal being with a better than average IQ," said Zoma. "However, I can solve the quandary you find yourselves in."

Hearing that, Max reached into his jacket and brought out the map, holding it out to Zoma who took it. He ran his eyes over it, an impressed little sound coming from him, before folding it up and putting it in his jacket.

"You want me to translate this?" he asked. "That all?"

"Just into English," said Sandy. "You can do it, right?"

"It won't be hard," replied Zoma. "Although, I can see why you came to me about it. This particular language hasn't been used in the galaxy for a very long time. It's for all intents and purposes an extinct tongue. I'm amazed that anyone even remembers it, much less has a sample of it."

"So, how are you going to translate it if it's long dead?" asked Nick. "Isn't that impossible."

"Only if you think moving along the linear boundaries of time and space at your own choosing is impossible."

Everyone looked at Sandy, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Didn't get a word of that," the blue ranger said, apologetically.

When they looked back to where Zoma had been previously, the figure was no longer there.

"Okay, where did he go?"

* * *

They waited for several minutes, the rangers growing more impatient by the second until they were greeted by the sight of the figure returning, materialising into view from out of nothing.

"Sorry about the wait," Zoma apologised. "But, contrary to what you may think, this was not an easy task."

"Probably took you less time than if we'd have to do it," Sandy said, noticing that the watch on the wrist of the figure was still glowing. "Did you...?"

Zoma nodded, holding the map out to Max who took it back. The red ranger quickly glanced across it, seeing that it was all in English, before putting it away in his jacket. He felt that they should wait until the five of them were back on the Night Hawk before any of them saw what it said.

"Thanks," said Max, sentiments that were quickly echoed away by the other rangers. "We really appreciate it."

"Oh no, I should be the one thanking the five of you," said Zoma. "To complete my challenges are no easy feat, meaning that I am impressed by your efforts."

Not for the first time, he reached down to his pocket and brought out a strange metal box. Like he had done with the map, he gave it to Max, the red ranger taking it but resisting the urge to open it up and look inside.

"What's that?" asked Nick. "If we may ask?"

"You may and it's a gift," answered Zoma. "A trinket to convey my respect to you. Like I said, I checked up on you all. Give it to Doctor Katongo, tell him it can act as a class 4-Alpha power source."

"Class 4-Alpha?" asked Sandy. "Are you sure?"

"I do know what I am talking about, Miss Garcia," said Zoma, his eyes flickering with amusement. "Just tell him that. Oh, and before I forget..."

Again, his hand went to his pocket to produce the five morphers that the rangers had misplaced upon arriving on the island.

"My apologies about taking them from you," he said, genuinely sounding sorry about it. "But, one element of my construct, it removes from you anything that could resemble a weapon. Such has been the way of every construct used since the dawn of my species."

"Ah, it's okay," Diana answered, fitting the morpher back over her hand. "Makes sense if you think about it."

"Anything else that you can help us with?" asked Lily, hopefully. "About absolutely anything?"

"I can send you back to Nagrant, Miss Yushaa," said Zoma. "But, to tell you anything else would be a violation of the rules of this place. And, I doubt you want to go through it all again."

"Well, you're not wrong there," said Max. "It was nice to meet you, Zoma. Hopefully it'll happen again in the future, but if it doesn't, then have a long and prosperous life."

"I already have, Mr. Redwood," said Zoma. "But your comments are appreciated."

He clapped his hands, and the five figures began to fade away into energy, streaming up out of his home.

* * *

They reappeared mere split seconds later back in the temple on Nagrant, the portal behind them no longer there. For a few more moments, they just stared at each other, speechless, before Nick finally broke the silence.

"Wow," the green ranger said. "That was an experience, wasn't it?"

"It was," said Lily. "At least it all wasn't a waste of time. We got the map translated, had a day on a tropical island..."

"Speaking of the map," Diana interrupted, looking at Max. "What's it say, Max? Come on, let's see it."

"Nah, we might as well wait for the Commandant as well," said the red ranger. "That's my plan."

"Come on, Max!" Sandy said, suddenly. "We all want to know what it says."

"It's not going to happen," he said, folding his arms. "So forget it."

"Max! Get it out!" Lily yelled. "We want to know what it says!"  
"Nope!"

"Damnit, let us see it!" Nick bellowed. "Don't make us hurt you!"  
"Like to see you try!" Max retorted, grinning. "Come on, guys... A little patience goes a long way."

* * *

"That's quite an interesting story," Falco said, the Mirror Ranger leaning back in his seat. The translated map was on the table in front of him, the item that Zoma had given them next to that. "If I didn't have the proof in front of me, I would find it hard to believe. Either way, I'm proud of the five of you, proud that you managed to overcome those challenges. Get that item down to Doctor Katongo right now, he can examine it, see what to do with it. On the map... Well well well, where do we go from here with it?"

"Honestly, I have no idea, Sir," said Max. "But, I saw some of it earlier. It all makes much more sense now."

* * *

Special Guest Stars.

- Crane Edwards.

- Claire Springfield.

- Ricky Yushaa.

- Kurtis Dragonfly.

- Jenna Whitestone.

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**While I was writing this, it occurred to me that every time Crane has appeared since the first episode, including Forever Red and Chimzor's Revenge, his hair has been black for some reason, while in the first episode of G-Force, it was light brown.**

**Looks like it got dyed at some point. Could come up with some sort of convoluted theory about how time travel screwed up the pigmentation of his hair colour, but would anyone believe that?**

**Anyway, random stuff, huh, Claire's third appearance in the series as a whole, but her first as an adult.**

**Third... Will there be a forth? Only time will tell.**

**Okay, so thanks to Cyborg-Lucario, Psyduck Ranger, Blazin' Saddles and PikaFlash for the use of those characters. Just thought that it'd be a nice link back to the past. Quick note, they might be a bit out of character in places, but they're not the actual characters, more just spiritual representations of them.**

**Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated.**

**Can anyone guess what Zoma was meant to be?**

**Well, the next one... The next one is the half way point. It is called Delta. And there might well be a little something in there about the next series...**

**But yeah, hoped you enjoyed this.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twenty, Delta, preview.**

**Samedi: A new tact. I want someone to deal with the Mirror Ranger.**

**D'Suyi: I have just the foe.**

**Max: We're in trouble! That Raikova managed to beat down all six of us.**

**Katongo: Using Zoma's gift, I think I can fashion something into a new weapon for you.**

**Lily: Time to do this!**

**Falco: Ranger's! Now!**

**All: Delta Force! Assemble Attack Squad!**

**

* * *

**

**Coming soon.**


	20. Delta

Chapter Twenty. Delta.

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After Merl Utreo's information lead to Max finding a lead on the planet Nagrant, Falco sent down the five Cosmo Rangers to try and track down the potential clue to deciphering the map. It came to a head when they discovered a portal to another world, a portal which lead to a strange island. They were each required to go on a vision quest, encountering rangers from the past. Lily met Ricky Yushaa, her possible ancestor and one of the Black Poké Power Rangers. Nick met Kurtis Dragonfly, the Green Johto and Neo Rangers, Diana met Jenna Whitestone, the Yellow Mighty Morphin' Poké Ranger, Sandy met Claire Springfield, the Blue Lost Zone Ranger, while Max met Crane Edwards, the Red G-Force Ranger. After finding their way through the forest with that aide, they had to work together to fight a giant Boldore before a being named Zoma deciphered the map and gave them a gift for passing his trials. After it, they reunited with Falco who realised that they needed to head to the Stronghold..._

_

* * *

_

"Excuse me?" asked Doctor Katongo, his jaws slacking in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"Class 4-Alpha," Sandy repeated, holding the box up in front of him in a tantalising fashion. "Do you want this? Do you need this?"

"A Class 4-Alpha power source is incredibly rare," the Psorian spluttered, almost dropping his cup of herbal tea. "Of course I can use it... It'd be remiss if I couldn't. I mean, I don't have anything definite that I could use it on, but I'm sure I can come up with something."

"Wow, I've never seen you that excited about something," said Diana, dryly. "What's exactly the big deal about it, if I may ask?"

"What's the big deal? What's the big deal? What's the... You don't know what the big deal is?"

The annoyed yellow ranger looked like she felt inclined to tell him how she didn't care, but instead swallowed it up and shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know. I'd never even heard of one until Zoma gave it to us."

"Zoma?" exclaimed Katongo. "Who or what is a Zoma?"

"Wish we knew," deadpanned Sandy. "Other than he's a pretty fake oracle who may or may not be an immortal time traveller and who relies on a Yvorkian Matter Transporter to get around."

"I don't understand," said the Psorian, a puzzled look on his features. "You'll have to explain it to me."  
"We're not one hundred percent sure ourselves," said Diana, listlessly. "If you're not, then we sure aren't. You're the one with that big Psorian brain."

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

**

* * *

**

"You rang, Sir?"

Hounar D'Suyi bowed down as he walked into the room, the unflinching eyes of his boss bearing down on him like needles of light through the darkness.

"Nothing escapes you, does it, D'Suyi?" asked Samedi, sarcastically. "I rang for you because I'm curious, I'm curious about our problem."

"What problem is that then?"

"What problem is that then?" mimicked Samedi cruelly. "What problem do you think? That fool Gaschet lost our map and it fell into the hands on the rangers. What do you think our problems are? If they learn how to read it, we really will be in trouble."

"Sir, Gaschet had a look at that map," said D'Suyi, quickly. "He couldn't read it. What makes you think that..."

"Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?" demanded the crime boss. "I want results, not excuses. If we can't get the map back, then we need to get rid of the rangers."

"That is something that we've already tried, Sir," replied D'Suyi. "It's not easy. The five of them alone are tough and competent fighters, but throw the Mirror Ranger into the mix and it's an almost impossible task."

"The Mirror Ranger?" asked Samedi, musing on it. "The sixth one... I see. From what we know, he's very much their backup, will come in when they need him."

"That's correct."

"Then, it's time for a new tact," said Samedi. "I want someone to deal with the Mirror Ranger. If their backup is down, we'll just have to whittle the five of them down. It's a lot easier to battle five, than six. Especially when they know that they have no hope."

"I have just the foe," said D'Suyi. "A Raikova mercenary, Sha Khunoe, recently came looking for work with us. He's powerful, I had him run tests on Gaschet, a suitable punishment I thought for him losing the map."

"You think he can do the job?" asked Samedi. "Then set him loose. But if this fails, then I'm going to be very very annoyed with you."

"Sir, it's your plan. I can't be at fault if the plan turns out to be an awful failure."

"No, but I can blame you for trying to complete the task with substandard materials."

"Okay, point taken."

* * *

"You believe that's what we went through?" Lily grumbled, still remembering what had been written on the documents Zoma had translated for them. "He didn't even make it any easier for us."

"Did you expect him to?" asked Max. "Be honest! Besides, he translated a long forgotten language into English. We just need to work stuff out from it."

"But, it's so cryptic," Nick complained, picking the map up and starting to read aloud from it. "I mean, who writes like this. Once upon a time..."

"That really makes the thing seem more credible for a start," Lily quipped.

"There was a great evil. An evil so vast and great that it broke free of a physical body, only existing in shadow and the minds of others," the green ranger said. "Well, that's accurate for a start. It lines up with what we know about Oblivings. They're a part of the bigger collective."

He read on, Lily's eyes rolling more and more with every word that came out.

"In order to protect from this vile influence corrupting everything and everyone, it was sealed away into another dimension after a great struggle from a noble hero to conquer and dominate it. The main gateway was locked away via the connection of three totems, a back door built into a tomb on Lucofa should the need to communicate with this Oblivion ever arise..."

"Lucofa was where the Pastoria came from when it returned to the Stronghold," Max interrupted. "Why would they need to build a back door into it is open to debate."

"Maybe the full force of the thing can't pass through the back door," Nick replied. "It doesn't say that here, exactly, but it hints at it. Such was the greatness of the evil contained, the back door would crumble upon its full force entering through it. Only the shattering of the three totems can release it back into the universe. Protect them at all costs. And then there's the map."

"I know," said Max. "The thing is, the systems are all under different names then. They're pretty much unrecognisable."

"Which is why I'm annoyed," said Lily. "We've got to go to the Stronghold and use the archives to trace the flow of planets back across time until we can find something resembling the actual place. That's just impossibly annoying."

"Yeah, but we've still got to do it," replied Nick. "If we can find them, we can put teams up to protect them, meaning that the Oblivings can't get any closer to doing it and the galaxy will be saved again."

"At least we're getting somewhere, at last," said Max. "You ever think the way the Oblivings disbanded from the Stronghold the way they did was to look for these totems?"

* * *

"Khunoe!"

At D'Suyi's shout, the heavyset figure of Sha Khunoe wandered into view, a menacing grin upon his Raikou face. He was a humanoid, what skin could be seen was covered in a fine black and gold fur. He wore thick silver battle armour across his upper body and legs, as well as a pair of steel hooked claw-ended boots on his feet. His hands were big and thick, each finger ending in a finely sharp claw. He had cropped purple hair that resembled the Raikou thundercloud, while his tail curved out behind him.

"Mr. D'Suyi," the Raikova answered, an evil smirk on his face as the eyes turned black. "So nice to see you again. You have something for me? A task perhaps?"

"Indeed I do," replied the Disastara. "You are to go to the Stronghold. Find the Poké Rangers of Cosmo Force and engage them in combat. You are to defeat the Mirror Ranger, he is your primary target, but should you be able to take any of them out then be my guest. We'll pay you fifty thousand credits for every ranger you take out, plus a bonus if you remove them all from action."

"How can I turn work like this down?" replied Sha, grinning. Both hands snapped down behind his back, pulling out a pair of golden blasters. "Nothing can stand against me when I'm in the mood for hunting."

"Just ensure that they don't!" warned D'Suyi, turning to leave. "There's a ship waiting for you down below."

* * *

"Now then, Rangers," said Falco, as the five cadets followed him off the Night Hawk, the ship now secured in one of the docking bays. "I'm going to go see about getting some access to the archives. In the meantime, take some downtime, go back to your homes, see any family or friends you might have in this place. Your last mission was completed well, you've earned a break."

"Thanks, Sir," Max replied, glancing around to see that the rest of the crew were coming off the Night Hawk as well. "Everyone leaving?"

"Techno 9 will be keeping an eye... Well, you know what I mean... on the ship while we're gone," said Falco. "If anything happens, she'll alert port security. I'm not worried about it."

"Nah, I'm just wondering more about what would happen if we get a 'big' problem," said the red ranger. "You know what I'm getting at?"

"Well, I'm not anticipating it," Falco said. "But, that is a problem regardless. If it really comes down to it, you can get your Cosmo Fighters in here. I really would hope that this isn't the case."

"What, because of the collateral damage?" asked Sandy.

"No, because it would imply that they're following us around," the Mirror Ranger answered. "The Oblivings, or Samedi's guys, or whoever it is."

"He makes a good point," said Doctor Katongo as he walked past, Zoma's gift in his hand. "Anyway, I'm going back to my labs. If you need me, you all know where to find me."

"And I'm going to pick up some supplies," offered Gordon. "Hone some of my cooking skills a little and get ready for the long space voyages again."  
"Oh joy," said Nick, sarcastically. "Can't wait."

* * *

"So, am I the only one who still hopes that Gordon was joking about his intent to ready himself for the next set of meals we'll have when we set off again?" asked Nick. "And, it's just occurred to me I could have said that better, but what can you do?"

"He also said he was going to try and hone his skills," remarked Lily. "Therefore, you should be grateful for it. Long as he gets plenty of orange soda in, I'm happy."

"Plus, it's not like his cooking could get any worse," pointed out Max. "Not without it wiping us all out in a massive blow because he forgot to cook some meat or something along those lines."

"Thanks so much for putting my mind at rest," moaned Nick. "Now I'm really worried that he's going to cook something for us that's going to make our stomachs explode in a massive blast of pain."

"Think I can help the five of you out with that!"

The mocking voice rang through the air, followed by a powerful screaming surge of electricity that smashed into the floor at their feet as they turned. The explosive force of the blast threw them up into the air, sending them reeling to the ground in pain.

"What the mrek was that?" demanded Lily, her question answered as Sha stepped into view, electricity still crackling from his paws. He wore a sadistic grin as he looked down at them with malice across his features.

"When I'm through with you, Rangers, you'll wish that bad cooking had been the thing that had killed you," he taunted. "You're not getting away from this."

As he spoke, the rangers slowly managed to get to their feet, looking at each other before bringing up their morphers.

"Keep dreaming," said Sandy. "You're the one who'll be getting put down."

"Let's do it!" Max shouted. "Cosmosis!"

At the command, they transformed into their ranger suits, taking up fighting stances as they glared at Sha.

"Make my day!" the Raikova laughed, his paws coming up to send another surging blast of electricity towards the group. They only barely managed to leap aside before it hit where they had been standing earlier. "If you can!"

Max threw himself forward, ready to strike out with a kick. The Raikova blocked it and punched him in the chest, forcing him to stagger back. Before he could recover, Sha kicked his legs out from underneath him. Sandy and Lily came in to battle, only for them both to be blasted away by a Discharge attack, the electricity stopping them in their tracks. Nick and Diana went running towards the Raikova, Cosmo Batons out and ready to attack. He dodged away from their strikes and hit out with a flurry of claw attacks, forcing them back. Nick went in with his baton, bringing it down on empty air as Sha spun away and broke it with a Thunder Punch. The Raikova then kicked the green ranger to the ground. Seeing him go down, Diana leaped up, her fist starting to glow with white light.

"Mega Punch!"

She hit him in the chest with the attack, immediately seeing that her attack was blocked and absorbed by his armour. He then slashed out at her several times with his claws, sending her crashing down to the floor.

"Rangers!" Max yelled, getting up to his feet. "Come on! Nightfire Cannon!"

As the five of them gathered back together, the weapon appeared within the red ranger's hands. He quickly pointed it at the Raikova.

"You're going down now!" he warned. "Nightfire Cannon! Fire!"

* * *

"So, we can't use it yet," said Falco, as he walked out of the Stronghold Archives Building, over to where Payne was waiting for him. "They're in the middle of some repairs to the system. It might be another few days before it's done."

"I see," replied Payne. "Well, if you don't need me for anything else, I'm going to take my leave and get in some minor shore leave, Sir."

"Okay then, First Mate," said the Aerobian, with a smile. "I'll see you at some point. Don't leave the Stronghold."

"Not planning to," said Payne. It was then that the radio in Falco's pocket beeped, forcing him into immediately answering it.

"Go ahead."

"Mr. Griote," said Techno 9, her voice slightly distorted across the device. "I think that the other rangers may need your help. They're battling an annoyed Raikova..."

"A Raikova?" asked Payne, letting out a whistle. "Whew, good luck with that, Peregrine. Aerobians aren't good with electricity."

"If my cadets need my help, then I'm not going to abandon them," replied Falco. "Thanks for letting me know, Techno 9."

"That's what I'm here for," she said, before the line went dead. Then Payne spoke up again.

"Sir, if you need some backup, I'm here," he replied. "Also, I would like to remind you that Raikova's are psychopathic by nature."

"I'm not arguing with you on it," said the Aerobian, bringing his morpher up. "Go enjoy your shore leave, Payne. Cosmosis!"

Morphing into his ranger suit, he extended out his wings before the Mirror Ranger rose up into the air and started to fly away through the Stronghold.

"Good luck," muttered Payne. "You're going to need it."

* * *

"Nightfire Cannon! Fire!"

At Max's command, the powerful red beam shot out from the weapon, screaming through the air towards where Sha stood...

... And promptly did nothing. It burnt into his armour but the entire force of the beam was absorbed into the stuff, only a few scorch marks remaining as the only sign that something had hit it.

"Oh dear," said Sandy, gulping. "We might be in trouble."

"You got that right," laughed Sha, his body crackling with more electricity. "You are in trouble!"

He let loose another Discharge attack, the blast shocking all five of them. As they collapsed to their knees, the Raikova started to walk towards them, laughing at their plight.

"You can't win," he said, simply. "You're outpowered and outmatched. Nothing can save you now!"

"Want to wager that?"

The shout came as the Mirror Ranger dropped from the sky, hitting Sha with both his wings. Although the blow forced him back a little, it didn't do any real damage to the foe. In response, Sha let out a laugh.

"Ah, the Mirror Ranger shows his beak!" he roared. "Come and face me if you dare!"

"I'm here, aren't I?" demanded Falco. As Sha threw out a Thunderpunch towards him, he managed to dodge the blow, moving to kick him in the back of the head. Again Sha tried to hit him, slashing out with his claws. The Mirror Ranger dodged his second attack, before punching him in the stomach. "Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

Sha let out a roar and tried to hit him, attacking purely out of blind fury. This time, Falco rose up into the air to evade it, flying out of the way. But, Sha had anticipated it. He unleashed a Discharge attack, the blast rising up to hit the Mirror Ranger in the chest. Falco bellowed in pain and fell, his wings giving out behind him. As the Mirror Ranger landed, knees first, on the ground, Sha kicked him in the face.

"You still want me to hit you?" he mocked, charging up another Thunderpunch. "Come on, Mirror Ranger, I expected more from you!"

At that, Falco angrily rose up and hit him with a powerful kick. Sha was staggered by the blow, even while injured from the previous attack, the Aerobian still packed a punch in his attacks. He closed in on the Raikova and hit him again. A third attack came out at him, only for Sha to grab his fist and block the attack. Despite his best efforts, Falco was unable to break out, not before Sha struck out with a Thunder attack that coursed through his entire body and sent him collapsing to the ground.

"Commandant!" Diana yelled, the other rangers still unable to move from the attacks he had inflicted on them earlier. "No!"

With grunts of exertion, Falco tried to rise up to his feet, only to get another boot to the face for his trouble.

"This is easier than I expected," crowed Sha. "None of you can stand against me, which means..."

A small orb-like metal object bounced towards the ground at his feet, drawing his attention.

"... I win."

It exploded, the intense mix of heat, light and sound throwing him back from such close quarters. As he sat up, his vision cleared and he saw that the six rangers had somehow managed to escape.

"You can run," he grunted, getting up to his feet. "But I will find you eventually..."

* * *

"You guys okay?" asked Payne, he and the six weakened rangers appearing in Doctor Katongo's laboratory, all of them morphed out of their suits. He immediately made to take off the teleportation device and drop it on the table, nodding at the Psorian. "Thanks for loaning me that."

"I'm just glad it works for all our sakes," said Doctor Katongo. "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine apart from my body, my pride and my spirit," said Lily. "Apart from all of those being wounded, I'm fantastic."

"She's still being sarcastic," remarked Diana. "I think she'll be fine."

"Man, we're in trouble!" Max exclaimed, ignoring the black and yellow rangers argument. "That Raikova managed to beat down all six of us! And he didn't look like he was trying, either."

"I assure you that he was," said Falco. "We've all got the bruises and the burns to prove it. This complicates things."

"And there was me thinking that a bloodthirsty Raikova was a relatively minor nuisance," said Nick, dryly. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to fight him again," said Sandy. "And try not to get shocked in the same way as before."

"I don't think that'll work," remarked Doctor Katongo. "You all know that Raikova warriors display psychopathic tendencies. When they fixate on you, they will keep on coming until one of you is dead. In your current state, I don't think I think you can beat him. I saw some of the battle footage and..."

"Plus, it's not like you can rely on Falco to help you out," said Payne. "Like I said to him earlier, Aerobians and electricity are not a good combination. Did he listen... Did you listen, Sir?"

"Our only saving grace, our only chance of hope is that he did catch us by surprise," said Nick. "Maybe if we knew he was coming..."

"It's not going to work," said Doctor Katongo. "I built those morphers and designed those ranger suits, remember? One of the things that I didn't put in was a heavy resistance to electricity."

"Well, that was a smart thing to do, wasn't it?" asked Lily, sarcastically. "If that's not going to work, then what do you suggest?"

"Can I just point out to you, Cadet Yushaa, that if I had made them fully resistant to everything that could be thrown at you, they wouldn't be as effective. The armour in your suits will repel all but the strongest of blasts. With currently technology, the armour would be heavily ineffective, it would make you slow and cumbersome if it was designed to repel everything. And that would lead to its own problems."

"He has a point," said Sandy. "He had to make the best balance between movement and defence that he could with what he had."

"But now I have a solution," said the Psorian. "I can fit something into your morphers that can give you a power boost, one that will enable you to beat that Raikova."

"Really?" asked Nick. "What changed?"

"Using Zoma's gift, I think I can fashion something into a new weapon for you," said Doctor Katongo. "I have been working on it for a while, but up until this morning, I wasn't able to find a power source for it. However, this is more than adequate."

"That's what the class 4-Alpha is, isn't it?" asked Diana. "That's what Zoma was referring to when he said you could use it, isn't it?"

"Correct," replied the Psorian. "If the five of you shall give me your morphers, I will make the upgrades."

"Five of us?" asked Max. "What about...?"

"I can't do anything for your powers, Commandant," said Doctor Katongo, looking at the Aerobian with a pained expression. "Unfortunately, they were designed to function at their maximum output, meaning that any attempt to upgrade them would result in a complete overload of the morphers output and likely destroy both it and the wearer."

"It's no problem, Doctor," replied the Mirror Ranger. "Cadets, give him your morphers. Stay here with him until he's completed the upgrades, Payne, you and I are going to go back out and see if we can track down that Raikova."

"Why me?" wondered the Felaine. "What have I done to merit such an honour?"

"Because you're more resistant to electricity than I am."

"It's still not great for my fur," Payne muttered, glancing around the lab. He paused for a moment, before stepping over to one of the tables and picking up a blaster pistol. "Mind if I borrow this? I left mine on the Night Hawk."

"Be my guest," said Doctor Katongo, already in the process of taking the morphers from the rangers. "I wish you luck in your quest to find the Raikova. I shall try to implement the upgrades as fast I can."

* * *

"Thanks for dragging me along with this, Sir," Payne said, he and Falco walking one of the districts. "I mean, it's been a while since I got to go and get into a tangle with something. Not since I threw that receptionist through a window for trying to attack me."

"Presumably you're looking towards something that might be more of a challenge," said the Aerobian, dryly. "Not some figure with an over-inflated ego and a crappy blaster pistol."

"True," Payne answered. "That is the case, although given the way he fought the six of you earlier, I can't help but feel like I may regret that wish."

He paused for a moment, sniffing the air. His eyes widened at what he smelt, the Felaine immediately pushing Falco aside and jumping out of the way himself. "Scatter!"  
A burst of electricity crashed into the ground where they had been stood moments earlier. Payne rolled onto his back, blaster pistol out and fired an automatic flurry of shots towards Sha, the blasts being absorbed by his armour.

"Try again!" taunted the Raikova. "This time, put some effort into it!"

"Fine!" bellowed Falco. "Cosmosis!"

He started the morph, transforming into his ranger suit.

* * *

"Come on, how much longer is this going to take?" whined Lily. "We need to be out hunting down that damn thing. Because, he's a danger to society."

"Actually, I think he might just be fixated on us," said Sandy, sat behind a computer. "I found him on the system, comparing surveillance footage with the Cosmo Force Database of Criminals. His name's Sha Khunoe, unsurprisingly he's a mercenary."

"Merc?" asked Max. "Am I just being cynical, or would anyone else be surprised if Samedi sent him after us?"

"Is this the point it's at now?" asked Diana, sarcastically. "We blame everything bad that happens to us on an invisible figure who we've never met and for all we know might not actually exist."

"I think he does, for the record," interrupted Nick. "But she has a point. We might be getting too jumpy for our own good about him."

Doctor Katongo cleared his throat, attracting the attention of the five of them, before speaking. "In case you're wondering, I have managed to upload the data into your morphers and powered it up with the class 4-Alpha source that you got from Zoma. All that needs to happen now is a series of tests..."

One of the radio's on the table beeped, before they all heard Payne's voice coming through it.

"Errr... Cadets?" he asked. "We're under attack over here. District four. Hurry on over when you can."

"He sounds like they're desperately in trouble," said Max. "Sorry, Doctor, but we need to go and help them."

"I heavily advise against this," said the Psorian. "I really do. It hasn't been tested..."

"Who else is feeling lucky?" asked Lily, glancing around the room. Max, Diana, Nick and Sandy all put their hands up. "Guess that decides some of it, anyway."

"Rangers, please don't do this," pleaded Doctor Katongo. "I'm begging you. But, if you're going to ignore me, I'll radio you the activation command on the way over."

"Great," said Nick, taking his morpher from the Psorian, the rest of the rangers doing the same. "Let's go!"

"Aren't I supposed to say that?" wondered Max, running out of the lab.

* * *

"Mirror Blaster!"

Falco brought the weapon out of the holster at his waist, firing several blasts of silver energy towards Sha, shots that were drawn in towards his armour and absorbed.

"I love this armour," crowed the Raikova, moving towards the Mirror Ranger. "Great gift, wasn't it. Now, eat electricity, Aerobian!"

He fired a Thunder attack at Falco, only for the Mirror Ranger to draw up his Mirror Wing and try to nullify the blast by absorbing it into the silver riot shield. Seeing what was happening, Sha increased the output of attack, sending even more electricity into the weapon. Eventually, it was thrown out of Falco's hands from the force of the stream, rendering him defenceless. A smile curled across Sha's face as his body began to become covered in electricity, before he raced forward into a Volt Tackle, slamming his body into the Mirror Ranger. Letting out a groan, Falco was thrown back across the street, coming to a halt in a heap in front of a store selling cheese.

Sha started to walk towards him, only for Payne to leap onto his back and slash several times at his throat with a Fury Swipes attack. Unfortunately for the Felaine, the armour protected his throat from damage, allowing Sha the chance to throw him off him and slam a Thunderpunch into him. Payne let out a groan and tried to get back up, but a Discharge soon put him back down. The Raikova then kicked him in the side, sending him rolling away where he came to rest against a tree.

In a flash, he was above Falco, grabbing up the Mirror Ranger by the throat.

"You're an Aerobian, you thought that you could defeat me," he taunted. "That's absolutely ridiculous!"

To emphasise his point, he clubbed Falco in the face with a Thunderpunch, bringing a roar of pain out of him.

"Did your parents never tell you that feathers and electricity never mix well?"

Another Thunderpunch. Falco tried to slam his wings into him, but Sha managed to catch one of them and squeeze it tightly to a halt. The other one slapped against his back weakly.

"You just are outmatched!"

He hit him again, before a confident shout rang out across the area.

"Put him down, he doesn't know where you've been!"

Sha turned, seeing the other five rangers stood across the street from him, all in the ranger suits.

"You tried to beat me before," he said, coldly. "You failed before. Your precious Mirror Ranger failed before, he failed again. What makes you think that this is going to be any different?"

"Because we're feeling lucky," quipped Nick. "And y'know... Just because."

"Time to do this!" Lily exclaimed, steadying herself. "Ready?"

"I, for one, can't wait," said Diana, lightly. Ahead of them, Sha let out a roar as he hit Falco again, slamming the Mirror Ranger to the ground.

"Rangers!" he bellowed. "Now! Do it now!"

"Let's do this!" Max roared, before all five of them shouted out their command in one loud cacophony of voices.

"Delta Force! Assemble Attack Squad!"

At the command, streams of pure white energy began to fan out from the morphers, covering their respective ranger in the stuff. The first thing that started to change were the pair of white pauldrons that appeared across their shoulders. From them, the rest of the armour began to materialise, spreading out to thicken up the ranger suit.

Max's ranger suit turned a lighter shade of red, the number one on his chest melting away into one long streak of black down the middle of his armour. A small flame insignia appeared across the upper right side of his chest, while a white and a black stripe appeared across each arm of his new armour. The boots and gloves turned black, while the Infernape helmet shifted away to be replaced with that of a Darmanitan. Tufts of flame erupted out of his shoulders before solidifying into a curve.

Sandy's ranger suit turned a lighter shade of blue, the number two on her chest melting away into one long streak of black down the middle of her armour. A small water insignia appeared across the upper right side of her chest, while a white and black stripe appeared across each arm of her new armour. The boots and gloves turned black, while the Porygon helmet shifted away to be replaced with that of a Walrein. Twin streams of water and ice erupted out of her shoulders before solidifying into a curve.

Lily's ranger suit turned a slightly lighter shade of black, the number three on her chest melting away into one long streak of silver down the front of her armour. A small dark insignia appeared on the upper right side of her chest, while a white and silver stripe appeared across each arm of her new armour. The boots and gloves turned silver, while the Mightyena helmet shifted away to be replaced with that of a Honchkrow. Bursts of dark energy erupted from her shoulders before solidifying into a curve.

Nick's ranger suit turned a lighter shade of green, the number four on his chest melting away into one long streak of black down the middle of his armour. A small leaf insignia appeared across the upper right side of his chest, while a white and black stripe appeared across each arm of his new armour. The boots and gloves turned black, while the Grovyle helmet shifted away to be replaced with that of a Venusaur. Two short vines erupted from his shoulders before solidifying into a curve.

Diana's ranger suit turned a lighter shade of yellow, the number five on her chest melting away into one long streak of black down the middle of her armour. A small electric insignia appeared across the upper right side of her chest, while a white and black stripe appeared across each arm of her new armour. The boots and gloves turned black, while the Ditto helmet shifted away to be replaced with that of a Galvantula. Twin blasts of electricity erupted from her shoulders before solidifying into a curve.

As the transformation completed, large black assault rifles appeared within their hands, the five of them posing with their new weapons.

"Oh mrek!" complained Sha. "This wasn't part of the deal!"

He looked back and forth frantically for a few moments, before throwing out a clawed hand in front of him. "Oblivings! Attack!"

His command summoned up a group of the creatures, the shadow figures immediately starting to run towards the powered up rangers.

"Is this guy serious?" Diana wondered, aiming her weapon at the oncoming crowd. "These powers are incredible. They don't stand a chance!"

"Let's get this on!"

* * *

With the Oblivings moving on in closer to them, the rangers brought up their new Cosmo Pulse Rifles and began to fire into the crowd, rapid fire blasts of laser taking some of them apart quickly. More of them came in towards the rangers from the flanks, moving too close for the weapons to be of any use. Max, Sandy and Diana looked at each other, before putting the weapons away and going to engage them. Max punched two of them away, one with each fist, before watching them disperse on hitting the ground. Sandy jumped up and kicked one in the chest to destroy it, before turning to hit another five times in quick succession. It staggered back before being kicked in the back of the head by Diana who then grabbed another one by the shoulders, danced behind it and snapped its neck. A faint crack rang out as the head came away from the body, both of them vanishing in a swirl of black smoke.

Meanwhile, Nick and Lily had gone to battle Sha, both of them firing at him. Although his armour was absorbing their shots, it wasn't a flawless process as it had been with any previous attack thrown at him. Their attacks were damaging his armour, the two rangers realising that they might be able to overload it.

He roared, before kicking the Mirror Ranger out of the way. His hands came up, a powerful Discharge attack firing towards them. Unlike before, it barely fazed the two rangers, the blast being absorbed by their Delta Force armour.

"You feel that?" asked Lily. "Not the strongest attack we've ever faced. Or this armour's really good stuff."

Smirking under his helmet, Nick sprang forward and punched Sha in the chest, the blow visibly staggering him. The Raikova threw a kick at him, one which the green ranger ducked under and retaliated with a kick of his own, taking his legs out from underneath him. Then, as Sha tried to get up, Lily jumped at him with a flying kick, the blow sending him falling over a bench where he eventually came to a stop against a wall.

As he got back to his feet, breathing heavily from the exertion, the other three rangers came running in. Max raced forward and struck out with two powerful roundhouse kicks, while Sandy and Diana both punched him several times. He fell back onto the ground, badly hurt, while the five rangers regrouped, taking out their Cosmo Pulse Rifles.

"You're going down, Sha!" yelled Max, aiming his weapon at the Raikova. "You've lost your right to remain silent."

"Dude, that pun doesn't work," muttered Lily. "Can we just wrap this up now, or are we going to be here all day?"

"Fine, fine," said Max, grumpily. "Firing Squad! Eliminate!"

Five streams of energy erupted from the weapons, slamming into Sha. Unlike before, his attack absorbing armour was completely overwhelmed and blew up, the follow up shots smashing into his body. Letting out a groan, he felt the blasts crash into him before falling down to the ground and exploding.

"Yeah, got him!" exclaimed Diana. "That's the power of the Delta Armour."

Ahead of them, the smoke cleared, revealing the metal card on the ground containing Sha's details.

"Good job, Rangers!" barked Falco, walking over to them, no longer in his ranger suit. "I'm proud of you for what you just did."

* * *

"That new armour is absolutely sweet," said Nick, the group walking back into Doctor Katongo's lab. "Can't stress it enough, great job, Doctor."

"See, told you that it'd work," pointed out Lily. "How good are we all?"

"You did well, Rangers," said Falco, grimacing at his wounds. "A good job well done. I think even Doctor Katongo would have to admit to that. At least we no longer have to worry about Sha."

"I am impressed with your luck," remarked the Psorian. "But just because it worked this time doesn't mean that it would have another time without testing."

"Can you not put a dampener on things?" wondered Sandy. "We've just had a good result and you're wanting to pick holes into it."

"I at least want some more tests to be conducted before I sign off on that armour being perfected for battle conditions," said Doctor Katongo. "Come back here tomorrow, I'll get you on the assault course with it and we can take it from there."

"Until then," interrupted Falco. "For the record, I agree with him on that, but until then, take the rest of the day off, have a few hours of enjoyment and get a good night of sleep. You've earned a rest, given the way you've battled."

"Yes, Sir!" exclaimed the five cadets.

"Dismissed!"

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Yeah... First ever group ranger powerup I've ever had. Somehow.**

**And also, the general gist of the map is revealed.**

**Anyway, Gordon, Doctor Katongo and Payne get a bit of screen time in this episode, so good for them.**

**Well, more screen time than previous episodes, anyway. The next two will take place on the Stronghold, anyway.**

**Still torn as to whether or not they'll get new Zords, I'll have to decide upon that before the next episode. Incidentally, that next one is entitled Infiltrate, the preview is below.**

**But first... Characters for next season. It might seem a bit early to do this, although this is the half way point of the fic, there are still two movies to do this series. But, since it's an open audition process, then I'm doing it now. Not sure how long it'll be open for, but I'll let you all know when it closes.**

**What I need for the rangers for next season, Dragon Strike, (For more information on the story for next season, see the Poké Rangers Online forum, the characters submission thread for this where it'll be.) is a black, a blue, a yellow, a pink and a gold ranger. The sheet is below. Feel free to send in as many as you want. Oh, and they all must be trainers in some capacity, just a quick note.**

Name.

Age. (Between 17 and 21)

Ranger Colour.

Home Town/City. (Can be anywhere. I mean, anywhere)

Personality.

Description.

Attire. (Feel free to send more than one set of clothes if you want to.)

Pokémon.

Personal History.

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews. All appreciated. I would like it if any character submissions sent in is via PM, but if you can only do it in a review, then okay then.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

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**Chapter Twenty One, Infiltrate, preview.**

**Falco: I want you to investigate the death of a Hyoori diplomatic ambassador.**

**Max: What's to investigate? Her aide shot her, didn't he?**

**Lily: He denies it. Claims to have been unconscious.**

**?: I once told you that you wouldn't get anywhere in life.**

**Diana: I think I know who it is.**

**Sandy: Who?**

**Diana: Rina Vela-de-voir. Also known as...**

**Nick: Infiltra!**

**

* * *

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**Coming soon.**


	21. Infiltrate

Chapter Twenty One. Infiltrate

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force..._

_After meeting Zoma and enlisting his help in translating the map, the rangers returned to the Stronghold to use the archives. They went their separate ways, before the five cadets were attacked by one of Samedi's mercenaries, a Raikova. He beat them down with his electrical attacks, even beating the arriving Falco with relative ease. Payne managed to help them escape to Doctor Katongo's labs where the Psorian gave them the Delta Armour upgrade. They battled Sha again, this time managing to beat him with their new weapon.._

* * *

"So, you see, Tanara," said the suited man, smiling at her. He was a dark skinned human, she was a Tentarcl, a Tentacruel-like Poké Alien. She had a humanoid body with light blue coloured rubbery skin, while her head was shaped like a miniature Tentacruel, the tentacles hanging down like hair. They were in one of the restaurants on the Stronghold, plenty of beings around . "I think it's a reasonable agreement."

"You'd preposition a diplomatic ambassador of Hyoori?" she asked, her tentacles forming into a smile. "That's brave. Tell me, what do you have upon my opponent?"

"You obviously want something about him," replied the man. "I can't help but wonder why you'd want to discredit such a fine political figure."

"I am not going to lie to you," she said. "I don't like Lucian Graimy. He's an annoying little parasite, one who thinks that he can usurp me from my position. If you've got dirt on him, I want to know it."

"Guess nothing really changes over time, huh," said the man, dryly. "No matter what the year, there's always scheming politicians trying to keep themselves in office."

"Hey, if he's done something illegal, then I think the voters should know about it," she replied. "Is the discrediting of an opponent really a bad thing if they've got something to hide. The fact that he's an opponent is just a by product, something unrelated completely to my way of thinking."

"Yeah, I would believe that if you hadn't already said that you didn't like him and he was trying to usurp you," said the man, smiling. "Now... Did I thank you for coming?"

"You did," she said. "Now speak!"

"I'm sorry, but all I can tell you is that Lucian Graimy is a fine upstanding politician. He's going to make a fine replacement for you," replied the man, as a younger Tentarcl, one in the Tentacool walked up to the table.

"What do you...?" Tanara demanded. "Jelf, what are you doing here?"

Rather than answer her, Jelf produced a blaster pistol and shot her twice through the head. She slumped to the table dead, before her aide dropped the weapon next to her, turned and ran off into the crowd. Nobody stopped him, too shocked by what had happened to react...

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force!**

* * *

"Okay, go!"

The five rangers, all wearing their new Delta Armour began to move at the command, walking towards the large hoarde of Oblivings stood ahead of them.

"Oblivings..." muttered Lily. "That's original. Can't we get something different and new for a change?"

"Apparently not," said Max, aiming his Cosmo Pulse Rifle at the crowd. "Either way, let's give them everything we've got. Treat them like any other foe."

The five weapons came up, all letting loose a stream of blaster fire into the crowd. As soon as the front line of Oblivings fell, more moved over to take their place, swarming towards the rangers.

"Guess we've got to get up close and physical," laughed Nick, as he ducked under a flying elbow strike from one of them, before back kicking it in the chest. "Just hope we don't have a blackout!"

"Hmmm..." said Sandy, battling two of the Oblivings at the same time. "Interesting observation. These suits may upgrade our strength, speed and durability, but..."

She kicked the closer one to her in the face to knock it out, before repeatedly punching the other.

"... They can't make Nick come out with good quips."

"Hey," he protested. "I resent that remark."

"Tough," said Diana, taking a break from tossing one of the Oblivings into a wall. "That's the way it falls. Like an Obliving. It falls like an Obliving."

"Apparently it afflicts Diana as well," mused the blue ranger. "How terrible."

"Okay, mouthy," said Diana. "Let's see you do better."

Shrugging, Sandy grabbed an Obliving by the throat and leg, spun and tossed it against a wall. Hard. "Playing some hardball."

"It might just be me," said Max, softly. "But, why are we having this debate about how can come out with the best quip after beating an Obliving senseless. Because..."

He spun and hit one with a Fire Punch, dispersing it into oblivion.

"... You do that, you're going to get burned."

Groans rang out around the battlefield, before the scenes surrounding them faded to white.

* * *

In the next moment, they were back in the training area of the Cosmo Force academy, their Psorian scientist stood watching them.

"Sorry about the lack of originality in the foes," said Doctor Katongo, apologetically. "But, it's actually been used as a training program for helping new recruits battle Oblivings. I couldn't make the adjustments in time."

"Ah, it's no problem," replied Sandy. "It's still proof that the Delta Armour appears to be working, so..."

"Yeah, I am satisfied with the results," said the Psorian. "Given the way you've beaten the simulation five times, I'm more than happy to sign off on it as working."

"Good!"

At that, everyone present turned to see Falco stood leaning against the wall in the corner of the room, a folder under his arm.

"If everything's in order, then I have an assignment for you," he remarked. "Something to pass the time until we can get into the archives."

"Cool," said Diana. "What is it?"

"I want you to investigate the death of a Hyoori diplomatic ambassador," said Falco, taking the file out from under his arm. "Tanara St. Coil."

Nick snickered at the name, forcing Lily to reach out and hit him on the arm. Predictably, Falco ignored him.

"I saw some of that this morning," said Max, quickly. "What's to investigate? Her aide shot her, didn't he? In a public place, hundreds of witnesses."

"I also saw that," Lily offered. "And obviously in better detail than you since he denies it. Claims to have been unconscious."

"Convenient excuse, huh?" asked Diana. "Okay, let's get this on. Makes a better way to spend our time than doing this."

"I'll let the five of you work out your own plan of action," said the Mirror Ranger. "In the meantime, I shall continue to negotiate for our use of the archives. I may need to go directly to the top in order to access the top secret sections."

"Straight to Galactic Executive Krengelore?" aske Sandy. "Cool. Give him our regards."

"I'll be sure to do that."

* * *

"Right," said Max, banging a fist on the table to help get his point across. "Here's the plan. We need to try and formulate what happened to St. Coil. Sandy, you and Nick can go to the scene of the crime, talk to any members of staff who saw it go down, Lily, you and I are going to head over and interview the assassin. Diana, you're to go over the witness statements, over every bit of information already gathered and see if you can spot any anomaly within the data."

"How come I get the really boring part?" asked the yellow ranger. "Surely I'd be better use elsewhere."

"I'm sure you could probably find a way to make it more interesting if you really thought about it," replied Max. "That's the most important part of the task. Go over all we have, everything Cosmo Force has. There's bound to be something in there."

"I'm not happy about this."

"You're not meant to be."

* * *

"So, he shot the ambassador, dropped the blaster and ran?" asked Nick, looking down at the table in question, a member of staff next to him and Sandy. "So, he'd be stood where I am, Cadet Garcia, can you sit down where the ambassador was sit so we can get a better view of it."

"What do you want me to do?" asked the staff member, a Typhig. "Sit where her companion was sat?"

"Yeah, sure, go for it," replied the green ranger, drawing out his Cosmo Blaster as Sandy sat down. "Don't worry, the safety's on."

"You shoot me in the face, you'll annoy me," warned Sandy, sarcastically. "Because..."

"Don't worry," offered the Typhig waiter. "If he shoots you, I'll testify against him, make sure he never sees the light of day again."

"Aww, isn't that sweet," said the blue ranger, smiling at him. "Anyway, what about her companion? What did they do when she was shot?"

"Screamed a bit, then called for some medical assistance and Cosmo Force. You probably don't need me to tell you that it was too late and she died."

* * *

"You are Jelf Iorkiss Bastworick Ranelli Piotr Francis Bellamy, correct?" asked Max, looking across at the Tentarcl across the table. "Former aide to Ambassador Tanara St. Coil?"

"You already know I am, I'm not talking on the grounds that you won't believe me," muttered the aide. "Look, I didn't shoot her. Why would I?"  
"We're not here to discuss motive, you slimy little parasite!" snapped Lily. "We don't care why you did it, we know you did it. We've got witnesses, we've got visual evidence, we've got fingerprints on the weapon. We've got financial statements stating that you were paid a large amount of credits for an unknown piece of work. If you want to explain all that away, we're listening."

"Ah..." moaned the Tentarcl, his head dropping. "I knew that'd come back to bite me. I can explain away the credits."

"Start talking then," replied Max. "Unless you want to spend longer in here."

"Tax laws," said Jelf, quietly. "Not too long ago, the ambassador was paid a substantial sum for raising an issue up in the Council. However, she didn't want to declare it, knowing that she'd have to pay a sum of it to the proper authorities, as well as explaining how she came across it. So she split it up and divided it across her aides, on the proviso that we all paid her back gradually over a period of months. I'll plead guilty to aiding in fraud, but I didn't kill her."

"How do we know you didn't want to keep the money?" asked Lily. "Oldest motive in the galaxy for murder."

"Because she guarded against the possibility," replied Jelf. "If she did die in such a way, the money was designated to go straight to her surviving relatives. That was laid down in the contract signed with the bank. Maybe you should check her daughter out, her brother, her mother."

"We don't tell you how to do your job, don't tell us how to do ours," said Lily, angrily. "Honestly, that's a dumb way of killing someone. Better way would have been to take a sniper rifle, or a hover vehicle bomb or..."

"Lil, not relevant," said Max. "Don't tell him how to do his job... Never mind. Mr. Bellamy, can explain away the fact that literally hundreds of beings have seen you do the deed by now? Be it eye witnesses, or footage shown on the news."

"I can't believe it hasn't struck you yet that I might be being framed," muttered Jelf. "There's probably a desparate shapeshifter out there somewhere in need of money."

"Blame a shapeshifter," said Lily, shaking her head. "Here we go. Oldest excuse in the book."

* * *

The same thing was ocurring to Diana at about the same time. The idea that St. Coil had been murdered by someone other than her aide in her head, she went back across the notes, searching for anything that didn't quite line up.

What would have made it a lot easier was if the restaurant had an Automated Biological Scanner. But she was out of luck there.

And then a thought struck her, a distant memory making its way through the gloom of her mind.

"No way!" she whispered, not seeing the other four rangers coming back into the room. "No way!"

"What is it?" wondered Lily. "What's got you in such a tizz?"

"All of this is starting to look dangerously familiar," Diana muttered, looking across the notes in front of her. "Oh no! No! No! No! It can't be her!"

"What, what are you thinking?" asked Max. "Tell us."

"I think I know who it is," said Diana, her head dropping. "Mrekking hell, it can't be."

"Who?" asked Sandy. "Who do you think it is?"

"Someone I went to the Cosmo Force academy with," said Diana, softly. "Rina Vela-de-voir. Also known as..."

"Infiltra!" Nick exclaimed, letting out a whistle. "Man, that's not good."  
"Infiltra?" asked Lily. "What's the story? And if she's so worried about it, how come you're not?"

"It's a legend of the Cosmo Force academy," said Sandy, softly. "Anyone who went there from an early age knows the story."

"Rub it in, why don't you," muttered Max. "I never heard anything about it."

"Me neither," said Lily. "Guess they must have missed it out at some point."

"Well, it is only a story," said Nick. "But..."

"Didn't you just hear me say that I was in the same classes as her?" asked Diana, harshly. "Man, you really need to listen."

"Okay, okay," conceded the green ranger. "I thought you were joking."

"You want to hear the story?" asked Diana, sarcastically. "I warn you, it contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature."

"Why, you make out with her?" wondered Max, before flinching, wondering why he had said it.  
She ignored him, before starting to speak, ready to tell her story.

* * *

"I was in the academy at the time, this you already know. We had just taken the regs class..."

She was referring to the class which taught aspiring cadets several aspects of the galactic law that they needed to know in order to work for Cosmo Force.

"... And we were bored. Me, I was bored, a couple of my friends were bored. And also bored was Rina."

"Nice that you're on first names with a professional killer," said Lily. "Nice one."

"I sure am, LILY!" retorted the yellow ranger, emphasising the name. The black ranger immediately got her point and shut up.

"Well, I looked around and there was Rina at the back of the room, hassling some of the younger cadets. She was in the same year as me, but there were some first years in there to 'observe' how the top students work. Supposedly an inspiring thing. How effective it is is open to debate. Anyway, Rina was really been cruel to them, the instructor, old Commandant Crady was out of the room. This was when he had the addiction to blue dust, although we didn't know that at the time."

She was referring to the revelation that one of the Cosmo Force academy instructors had been ingesting blue dust for several years, something that the Stronghold tabloids had really enjoyed revealing. Commandant Crady had eventually been forced to step down by the pressure forced upon him by the media.

"Like me, she's a shape shifter. Unlike me, she's part Mystigar, whereas I'm part human. When I knew her, she wasn't a powerful telekinetic warrior, but she was fast, strong and troublesome. That ability to change shape was also her real trump card. Anyway, she was trying to get some spare credits out of these younger cadets, anything of value really. Well, eventually, one of them tried to resist and she gave him a pretty brutal going over. Because of Rina's abilities, nobody really wanted to say anything. But, I don't know why I did it, I did. I told her to give up."

"That's our Diana," said Sandy, smiling. "Standing up for the little guy. Eventually."

"Anyway, she had a weapon on her," continued the yellow ranger. "Strict academy rules that trainee cadets aren't supposed to carry them. Well, you know, that's one of the things about graduating. You get issued your weapons, you get permission to carry them around in public with absolutely no consequences. Well, unless you let your Cosmo Blaster off into a group of children, then there's consequences, then you get the idea. She brought out her weapon and tried to stab me with it. We fought, were pretty well matched in the end as it'd turn out, we both held a decent knowledge of unarmed combat... I managed to disarm her. In the end, the fight was broken up by two or three of the instructors. There were a whole load of witnesses, I wasn't in any real trouble. Not as much as Rina was. She was kicked out and supposed to be locked away in Acathria for a few months as punishment. Yet, she escaped before she could serve her sentence. It later did become apparent that she resurfaced as an assassin. I encountered her while on an early mission in my career. I discovered she had taken the name Infiltra. Again, we fought. This time, she won. Put me in the medical bay for a few days. When I recovered, she had long gone. But from time to time, I heard stories about what she was getting up to. And here we are now. The Stronghold. Looks like she's struck out again."

"Wow," said Max, letting out a whistle. "That's quite a tale."

"You're not kidding," repplied Nick. "We have to get her. Imagine what that'll do for our reputation."

"How do you catch the uncatchable though?" asked Lily. "Her being an assassin is bad enough. Being a shape shifter makes her ten times more tricky. She could be anyone. Even you!"

She pointed at Diana.

"How do we know all that's true?"

"The story gets worse," replied the yellow ranger. "What really makes Infiltra so dangerous is that as part of her Mystigar lineage, she can absorb memories and abilities from those that she touches. Any attempt to counter her would be futile, we could arrange for code words and secret handshakes, but if she manages to get that information, it could be catastrophic. If we're going to try and deal with her this way, we're probably best treating each other as suspicious. If we put into place a code word, she got it and said it, we'd naturally lose all suspicion and be more vulnerable."

"That makes some sort of sense," said Sandy. "What's the plan? Go out and look for her?"

"What, a shape shifter?" asked Max. "You out of your mind? Even if she's still on the Stronghold, she could be in one of a thousand different forms. Even if we did see her, there's no guarantee she'd be in her actual appearance."

"He has a point," replied Diana. "Think about all we can do is play the waiting game."

"I hate the waiting game," muttered Lily.

"Might as well call it a day," said Max. "Let's get a few hours sleep, meet back here later and try to work out a better plan."

"I'm game for that," said Sandy. "It's been a long day. And what with spending most of it either being beaten up by a Raikova or testing out the Delta armour, we could do with the rest."

* * *

Diana didn't know what had awoken her. Back in her home, she realised she had fallen asleep atop the covers, still in her uniform. All she knew was that somewhere in the room, something had been knocked over. Almost on auto-pilot, she got up, picking up her Cosmo Blaster and slippping it into its holster, heading out of the bedroom of her apartment, the one she shared with her still-offworld roommate.

She walked into the living room, seeing what had fallen almost immediately. A vase had shattered across the carpet, dust from within everywhere. She hadn't realised just how long it had been since anyone had lived here.

It was then that Diana saw her stood across the room, a pink skinned Gardevoir-like Poké Alien wearing a set of blue battle armour complete with a cape in the same colour.

"Hello, Rina," she said, softly. "Long time no see."

"You knew it was me," the assassin replied, dryly. "I'm most impressed."

"Why are you here?" asked Diana. Her hand fell to the Cosmo Blaster at her waist, ready to bring it up and blast her if the worst came to the worst. "Take it you're not making a house call."

"I'm not a doctor," she said, dryly. "What, can't I stop by and visit an old friend?"

"Of course you can," replied Diana. "Why don't you go and see them then."  
"Oh ha ha," answered the assassin. "That's funny. That's really funny. You're a funny girl, Diana. Heard you were back on the Stronghold and couldn't resist."

"You shot Tanara St. Coil, didn't you," the yellow ranger said, her voice accusing. "Who asked you to do that."

"Sorry," replied Infiltra. "Never heard the name before it was all over the news."

"You're lying!"

"Prove it."

In reaction, Diana brought free the Cosmo Blaster from her waist, moving to fire at the intruder. Before she could get it up, Infiltra tore forward and punched the weapon up into the air, the shot slamming into the ceiling. She then kicked out and knocked Diana to her knees, moving then to hold her down, both hands on her throat.

"I once told you that you wouldn't get anywhere in life. Still no match for me," she taunted, running a hand across Diana's shoulders, her fingers dancing across the lightly gelatinous skin. "I still think I was right. You... You're a slave to the whims of your superiors. Me, I'm a free spirit, I go where I want. Good girls do finish last in this life. When I'm retired to Nagrant to enjoy life, you'll still be doing the thankless task of policing this galaxy. Who's the real sucker here?"

"Hey, I'm proud to do what I do!"

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Infiltra. "You hate me because I'm a thief, a murderer and many other things that might stick if you throw them at me. On the other hand, Max Redwood was a thief before he became a Cadet. Lily Yushaa... Well, if she'd carried on the way she was going, I believe she'd be a serious rival to my title as Galaxy's Greatest Assassin. You associate with those two, yet I'm a contagion. Double standards, my dear. Double standards."

"Redemption is a funny thing."

"Funny. If you murder once, you're a murderer for life," retorted the assassin. "Hell, how is what I do any different from what you do? You Cosmo Force Cadets shoot enough beings in the line of duty. We're both doing it for a cause, the difference is mine is for my own."

"Which is the reason I'm obliged to stop you," said Diana. "For the record... I'm not sorry."

She brought her morpher up, activating it with a shout. "Cosmosis!"

The energy erupted from the device, transforming her into her ranger suit. The sudden burst of power was too much for Infiltra to hope down, Diana sprang up, spun and kicked her in the chest. She let out a hiss of pain and slashed out with her fist, hitting the yellow ranger in the face. In response, Diana jumped up and hit her with a flying kick, the blow forcing her back towards the window.

"Think I'm going to end up paying for this," she muttered, before throwing another kick at her opponent. Infiltra crashed against the window, before being hit again, the two of them crashing through it out onto the plaza outside.

* * *

Infiltra had come out of it better than Diana had, transforming into a Sleepbear to avoid being badly hurt by the fall. She moved back into her regular appearance, immediately grabbing the yellow ranger up by the throat and tossing her against the wall. Grunting in pain, Diana kicked back, landing a blow into Infiltra's stomach. The power behind it was enough to stagger her slightly, causing her to double over in pain.

"How do you like that?"

"Barely felt it!" retorted the assassin, summoning up a ball of telekinetic energy and zapping her. As Diana was again thrown back, this time landing on her back in the middle of the street, the yellow ranger realised that it wasn't going to work.

"All right," she said, angrily picking herself up. "You want to play rough? Delta Force! Initiate Attack Mode!"

Diana's ranger suit turned a lighter shade of yellow, the number five on her chest melting away into one long streak of black down the middle of her armour. A small electric insignia appeared across the upper right side of her chest, while a white and black stripe appeared across each arm of her new armour. The boots and gloves turned black, while the Ditto helmet shifted away to be replaced with that of a Galvantula. Twin blasts of electricity erupted from her shoulders before solidifying into a curve. Her Cosmo Pulse Rifle appeared in her hands.

"Unimpressive," retorted the assassin. "Is this how you seek to beat me, Diana? Fancy armour and cadet combat moves which I have long since passed the need to use."  
"Let's find out then, shall we?" the yellow ranger demanded, pointing her Cosmo Pulse Rifle at Infiltra. "Want to try me?"

She fired, sending a blast of energy towards her opponent who teleported away, reappearing several feet to the left. "Telling you, you're going to have to try harder to hit me than doing that."

"Okay, I concede," she admitted, putting the weapon away. "Let's do it then. You think you're better than me…"

"I know I'm better than you," the assassin retorted, sarcastically.

"… Prove it!"

At that, Infiltra tore forward, teleporting through the air to appear in front of the yellow ranger, moving to hit her with a telekinesis backed punch. Had she been in her regular form, or even her regular ranger suit, Diana wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

Yet, her Delta Armour changed that. She managed to get up both hands and grab the wrist, stopping Infiltra's blow in its tracks. The assassin's eyes widened, the reaction increasing as Diana kicked her in the side before twisting her to the ground, landing her on her back.

"Okay," Infiltra conceded, again teleporting away. "I tell you what. You've got some skills. Let me go, we'll call it even and I won't have to put you down."

"You know, Rina," said Diana, thoughtfully. "I've got to give you credit. I never thought you could surprise me as you just have. I thought there wasn't any way that you could still be as arrogant as you were back in the academy."

"And you're still as sarcastically bitchy as ever. Maybe we just don't change."

At that, Infiltra punched her in the side, twice, her attack powered with a burst of psychic energy, Diana was thrown away from her, her body smashing against one of the walls of her apartment building. "Maybe you should have taken that offer, love."

Ahead of the downed yellow ranger, Infiltra turned to run, teleporting away several feet at a time.

"You're not getting away that easily," muttered Diana, tapping the side of her helmet. Her visor activated, locking in on the trail of teleportation energy, rendering it into a visible path in front of her. "Thanks for this ability, Doc."

Getting to her feet, she began to follow the trail, activating her communication device. "Hey, guys, you awake yet? I've got a lock on her…"

* * *

"Okay, where is she?" asked Max, the other four rangers morphed and following Diana. She had morphed out of her Delta Armour by this point, back in her regular ranger suit. "You see her anywhere?"

"Just the trail," answered the yellow ranger. "It's going cold, I think she's stopped here somewhere. Maybe it's her hideout."

Nick looked around the warehouse, letting out a snort as he surveyed it. "You'd think a galactically famous assassin would have a better place to lay low than this damn hole," he remarked. "Like a penthouse in one of the big hotels or something."

"Bit conspicuous, isn't it," said Lily. "It's not really going to happen, the staff could see her and… It's just struck me that that wouldn't make a difference since she's a shape changer."

"Exactly," replied Diana. "Either way, I don't think this is her hideout to be honest. More some place that she ran to in an attempt to escape from us."

"Have I mentioned how much this job can irritate me at times?" wondered Sandy. "Is the floor going to collapse below us? Is she going to open fire from some hidden space, or is she going to throw a quantum grenade at us? All in all, there's just one big bag of fun with how she can take us out before we even see her."

"Yeah, but there's five of us," said Nick, confidently. "And one of her. Add Falco into the mix when he gets over here and I think we can toast that assassin a new shell."

"That makes no sense," pointed out Lily. "Half breeds don't have shells. Unless one of their parents was something that did have a shell, but that's just common sense."

Shrugging, Max continued to walk forward, suddenly feeling something below his feet. The ground sinking in beneath his boot, the meaning immediately hit him. "Uh oh," he groaned, his head dropping. "Guys…"

A stream of electrical energy raced through the floor, the blast sending all five rangers down to the ground, the blast coursing through their bodies.

Ahead of them, they saw Infiltra laughing at them, a remote in her hand. "Ah, congratulations, Red Ranger. You've proven yourself to be completely vital to my plan of escape. When you've recovered the feeling in your limbs, you might want to applaud my efforts. I know I'd want you to do that.

Seeing them still unable to move, the assassin turned to flee, confident that she would escape...

"Mirror Wing!"

... Only for Falco, morphed into the Mirror Ranger suit, to slam his weapon into her face and knock her onto her back, gasping for breath.

"You're messing with the wrong space station," he warned. "Rina Vela-de-voir. You are under arrest for countless acts of murder, resisting arrest, assault of a Cosmo Force cadet, identity theft..."

"Yeah yeah," she said, dryly. "And those are my good points. Can I just tell you that you're not going to take me alive. Ever."

Moving a hand down to her waist, she plucked a silver device from somewhere and punched down a button upon it, laughing as she did so. "Enjoy my backup plan, Cadets!"

Teleporting away, the sound of crashing metal emerged outside the warehouse, almost as if something large and heavy was making its way towards them.

"Let me guess…" said Sandy, dryly. "Only one thing that's going to be."

As they ran outside, they saw the mechanoid towering above them, resembling an Emboar with the head of a Gardevoir and the tail of a Smeargle. In front of them, they could see Infiltra waiting for them, a huge smile upon her face.

"This is your end, rangers," she chortled. "I bought this thing long ago in anticipation of this moment."

She teleported away, reappearing within the mechanoid. "Time for you to feel my full wrath, rangers!"

"Where do they pull these things from?" wondered Diana. "Either way, think we should break out the heavy artillery?"

"Oh yeah," said Max. "That's exactly what we need. Cosmo Fighter power!"

* * *

Swooping down from the sky above them, the Cosmo Fighters arrived on the scene, the automated transport systems bringing the rangers on board. In response to their arrival, the morph drives activated, transforming the Cosmo Fighter into their Zord forms.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation!"

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

"Let's get her!" yelled Diana, the giant robot moving forward towards Infiltra's mechanoid. "I've got a huge bone to pick with her!"

The Cosmo Megazord moved forward, punching Infiltra's mechanoid in the body. In retaliation, it punched them back, before striking with its tail. Sparks rose up from the scrape of metal against metal.

"That's loud!" complained Sandy. "I'm all for slowing it down a little. Cyber Pulse!"

At that, the Porygon arm came up, shooting a blue energy beam into Infiltra's mechanoid, slowing it down. Yet it didn't stop, still moving towards them.

"That didn't work," commented Diana. "Guess we go to plan B."  
"We have a plan B?" wondered Max. "Go for it then."

"Giga Slam!" commanded the yellow ranger, punching a button in front of her. The Cosmo Megazord tore forward, lowering its head to slam the blow into the mechanoid, yet down to the huge bulk of the Emboar body it didn't take much damage.

"You know what we could do with," said Nick. "Some sort of attacks that are effective against this things typing.

* * *

Down below them, Falco looked to the sky and gave the command. "I summon the Night Hawk!"

Far away in the docking bay, the ship rose up from the securings, directed by Techno 9 and began to fly through the Stronghold, homing in on the battlefield.

As the Night Hawk came swooping down out of the sky, the Mirror Ranger leaped up to get into the cockpit. Reaching down to a pad, he keyed in a code, pushing the numbers four, eight, seven and one, the input bringing the console to life.

"Activating morph drive! Mirror Hawk Megazord!"

Responding to the command, the Night Hawk transformed into a mechanical Pidgeot. Soaring through the air, the Pidgeot began to change, the face moving forward to balance on the body, revealing a new humanoid face ahead of the Pidgeot crest. The legs moved down to the rear of the figure, combining with the tail feathers to create legs. The wings stayed where they were, while a pair of arms emerged from the body, the talons from the feet moving up to attach to the end of the hands. The transformation complete, the Mirror Hawk Megazord landed on the ground.

Inside her mechanoid, Infiltra cursed several times, annoyed at the arrival of the new threat. "You won't take me in. I promise you that!"

"That remains to be seen," replied Falco. "Air Slash!"

The talons upon the Mirror Hawk Megazord swept out, digging deep into the body of Infiltra's mechanoid. Huge gashes were left within the body, gaping wounds across metal.

"She's all yours, Cadets," called the Mirror Ranger, clearing his throat. "Let's take her in."

"Right!" yelled Diana. "Star Blade! Now!"

At the yellow ranger's order, the huge sword appeared in the hands of the Cosmo Megazord, the weapon swiping out three times to hack away an arm and half the head of the enemy robot.

"Think this might be the time for a cutting taunt?" wondered Diana. "Or if nothing else, probably just the Star Blade Assault."

As the weapon began to glow with a sheen of white energy, a stream of purple energy erupted from the mechanoid and vanished far away into the distance. Before anyone could question it, the Star Blade came up and struck out five times, obliterating it in a storm of fire and metal.

The remains hit the ground, yet no card appeared, nothing signalling that Infiltra had been captured. It was Falco who voiced the thought first, saying what all of them were thinking.

"She got out," he said simply. "Teleported on out of there before your attack, meaning she escaped. Could be anywhere by now, we're not going to get her back."  
"Damnit!" Diana yelled, punching the console in her cockpit. "Can't believe that, we were so close to getting her!"

"Calm down Cadet Camerons," said Falco. "It's not your fault, you all did stellar work to try and take her in. None of you are to blame for her escaping. We'll have to forget about it and move along, take away what we've learned here and hope that we'll get another shot at her in the future."

* * *

"Well, it's a relief to have her out of the way for the moment," said Sandy, the five rangers walking through the Stronghold towards the archives. "Even if we didn't take her down, then at least she's probably not going to come back here for a while. If ever… How long do you think Infiltra will live for? Naturally, I mean?"  
"Don't know," replied Diana. "Formshifters do live longer than some species throughout the galaxy. Half breed Formshifters… Depends on what their other half is. For example, I consulted a doctor about this, provided I'm not KIA for Cosmo Force…"

"Like the odds of that happening," muttered Lily. "Ten percent of Cosmo Force Cadets will be injured or worse in the line of duty. It's a statistic."

"I'm sure you just made that up on the spot," commented Max. "We all know that's not true."

"… Provided I'm not KIA, I'll live the average life length of an ordinary human. Sucks, but what can you do?"

"Diana, can I ask you something?" said Nick. "What's to stop you living even longer by shifting into a younger form and stopping yourself from dying that way?"

"Can't," she answered. "I imagine that someone thought of that before, but it doesn't work. Even if the body stays young, the mind ages just the same. After a certain point, it'll just… Fizzle out and die. And everyone with the ability to change shape would like to die in their own form."

"Oh, thought it'd be something like that," Nick remarked. "Obviously you wouldn't be able to live forever, otherwise this place would be overloaded with them. Just wondering."

"And is there anything wrong with the idea of Formshifters living forever and overloading the place?" asked Diana, inquisitively. "If there is, please let me know and then I can beat you with the racist stick."  
"You have a racist stick?" wondered Max. "That's cool. You beat someone with it and it calls them names? That's awesome."

"I'm pretty sure you know what I meant," said Diana. "Anyway, we're here. We've not captured Infiltra, we've got a task to do now, one that Falco probably intends for us to do to the best of our ability."  
"I know," said Sandy, looking up at the archive building. "We need to find the planets on those charts and go there."

"All so we can see what it is that's so special about them," mused Lily. "Hope it's going to be more interesting than it sounds."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Think we all hope that.**

**Infiltra... Remember her? Huh? It's been a long long time. And you have to wonder about the canon of her past appearances now. Or do I have a plan?**

**Anyway, sorry about the delay, I've had writer's block. And other things on my mind.**

**Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated.**

**The next one? Well, I'm going to be honest, I've cut the season down from forty episodes to thirty two. So, this is over the half way point, there's eleven episodes left after this. Plus two movies, the first of which will be started in about five chapters. So something to look forward to.**

**And the next one is entitled Ice. Pretty simple, but effective. Preview below.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

**Chapter Twenty Two, Ice, preview.**

* * *

**Nick: I never want to see another star chart as long as I live.**

**Golde: Approaching Smaltempra, we'll hit it in half an hour.**

**Lily: You may mock the fur, but I'm not the one who's cold. So there!**

**Diana: Ooh, she has a point. That is warm.**

**Max: That's impossible.**

**Sandy: Who would build something like that?**

**Falco: This is going to get rough, Rangers. Prepare to fight!**

* * *

**Coming soon!**


	22. Ice

Chapter Twenty Two. Ice

* * *

_Previously On Poké Rangers Cosmo Force._

_The rangers were sent after the assassin Rina Vela-De-Voir, aka Infiltra after Diana's guess that she had been involved in the murder of the ambassador Tanara St. Coil from the planet Hyoori. In revealing her opinion, Diana also told them of her past with the assassin and how Infiltra hated her. Later, Infiltra attacked the Yellow Ranger at her home, the two of them fighting. Thanks to the Delta Armour, Diana managed to beat her, the other rangers showing up in time to stop her from escaping. Yet, escape she did, abandoning her mechanoid when the Cosmo and Mirror Hawk Megazords battled it_

* * *

"This is officially the worst task we've ever had," complained Lily, looking down at the screen in front of her. "I mean… Examining star charts to compare with a map over several thousand years old. What a waste of time and effort."

"Sorry that you think of it this way," remarked Sandy, grinning over to the black ranger. "I'm quite enjoying it. Beats the mrek out of being shot at or beaten up by Oblivings."

"Have to agree with her to a certain extent," said Diana. "After the day we just had, I'd rather have spent it doing this instead of being hit by Infiltra."

"I never want to see another chart as long as I live," Nick said. "I'm so bored…"

"That should be an incentive for you to work faster then," Max commented. "Faster we get it done, faster we can identify one of them, we can get out of here and make our way to the end of the rainbow to find what pot of gold lies there."

"There's three star systems on here," pointed out Lily. "Even if we do one, we'll still have to work out the other two. A prospect that just fills me with glee."

"You heard what the commandant said about that," said Nick. "To be fair to him, he did say we could leave the task to the archive managers once we know what needs to be doing, what needs looking for and the like."

"Yeah, that's the one redeeming thing," Max remarked. "I'm not loving this, but…"

"Eureka!"

Everyone looked around to Sandy, desperate to see what she had given the shout at, seeing the blue ranger wearing a huge grin on her face.

"We have a match. The planet Smaltempra in the Tundro system."

"Are you sure?" asked Max. "There can't be any room for mistakes here."

"Who cares?" Lily exclaimed, punching the air. "We can leave!

* * *

**It seems like the end of time**

_Poké Rangers Cosmo Force logo appears in the starry sky._

**Like something bad is coming.**

_It fades out to reveal the galaxy, filled with planets. The Stronghold appears in the background._

**We're living in an unsafe world**

_Max appears in his quarters. Max Redwood. Red Cosmo Ranger. Created by Hotrod198._

**The cracks are coming through.**

_Sandy appears in the computer room. Sandy Garcia. Blue Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaFlash._

**Darkness rising and falling**

_Lily appears in the combat arena. Lily Yushaa. Black Cosmo Ranger. Created by Cyborg-Lucario._

**Means the universe is calling.**

_Nick appears in the engine room. Nick Miele. Green Cosmo Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_Diana appears in the armoury. Diana Camerons. Yellow Cosmo Ranger. Created by PikaGod._

**Nothing is quite as it seems**

_The five rangers morph into their ranger forms._

**We're losing it all.**

_Falco appears in the cockpit. Peregrine 'Falco' Griote. Silver Mirror Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo._

**We need a brand new salvation**

_Oblivings swarm across the screen in an army._

**Something to save us...**

_The Night Hawk flies through the galaxy, panning to a shot of the crew through a window._

**Poké Rangers: Cosmo Force.**

_The Cosmo Megazord and the Mirror Hawk Megazord appear on a planet._

**From the stars and the distant past,**

_The rangers pose with their weapons, before firing them._

**Come to conquer, you'll never last.**

Poké Rangers Cosmo Force created by Blue Bongo. All rights reserved.

**Cosmo Force**

* * *

"We're coming up on it, Sir," called Golde. "Approaching Smaltempra, we'll hit in half an hour. Might want to get saddled up and ready to head out and look for whatever it is on this planet."

"Heh," laughed Payne, leaning back in his seat. "There's one huge flaw in all of this in that you could spend the entire time down there looking for a needle in a haystack. It's a winter wonderland out there."

"Mr. O'Roarke isn't exaggerating," said Techno 9. "Smaltempra is approximately five million square miles in circumference. If you'll allow me to scan the surface of the planet, I can see if I can get a lock on anything out of the ordinary, anything that maybe wouldn't show up on a regular scan."

"If it's not going to show up on a regular scan, then how do you expect to find anything?" wondered Golde. "If it wasn't for that small fact, I'd already have done it."

"The chart directed us here," replied the A.I. "Something linked to the Oblivings tried to steal the chart; it might not be an unreasonable decision to assume that they have some connection. We have samples of their unique energy readings on file; I could scan the area for anything closely similar to it."

"That makes sense," said Falco, stood leaning against the wall at the back of the cockpit. "Do it. Once the results are in, let me know. No point going down unless we have a viable plan of action."

"That's always a good idea," remarked Payne. "Glad I'm not going down there with you, I'll end up freezing my tail off."

"You're going down there with them?" wondered Golde, looking over to the older Aerobian. "Really?"

"Yes, that is correct," Falco answered. "There could be anything down there, we need to be at full strength."

"In case in whatever is down there resists?"

"Again, that's correct.

* * *

"Got to say," commented Lily, leaning back in her chair to look at the ceiling of the mess hall. "If you'd said to me earlier that we'd have a choice between exploring a snow bound planet or doing more research, I don't know what I'd pick."

"Don't you do snow?" asked Sandy. "It probably won't be too bad for you, you've got that fur. I mean what's a minus twenty to you?"  
"Minus twenty?" exclaimed Max. "Mrek!"

"Yeah, and you're part Flarmian," pointed out Nick. "You can set yourself on fire if need be, and survive."

"Going down to the surface of Smaltempra?" asked Gordon, looking over from behind his counter. "Think you might need something hot and nourishing inside you."

"You know, you might be right there," said Diana, thoughtfully. "Wonder if there's a stand down on the space port that we can get a cup of soup or something."

"I've got soup," protested the chef. "Made from fresh Psyduck."

"Ah, Psyduck," said Nick. "One of the most understated Pokémon out there, quite underrated. "But they make good soup I've heard. Smart and tasty."

"I'm sure every Psyduck everywhere is happy that you consider it worth eating," remarked Sandy. "Either that or completely annoyed."

"Do you want some soup or not?" demanded Gordon. "Because it's not going to consume itself."  
"Tasted some of your cooking before," quipped Lily. "Think there's a chance it might do exactly that before it grows cold."

"I could take offence at that."

"If you were going to take offence at your cooking, you'd have done it a long time before now," said Max. "Come on, Gordon, we want to know. How did Falco ever appoint you as the chef on this ship?"

The chef gave him a dirty look before turning away to leave, stomping towards his counter.

"Come on, I was only asking," complained the red ranger. "His sense of humour die?"

"If it did, he probably cooked it with that stew he serves up as his speciality," commented Diana, before looking over to the counter. "Actually, can I get some orange soda before we go down, Gordon?

* * *

"Glad to see you're still coming with us on this mission, Sir," said Max, as he and the other rangers walked into the shuttle bay to find the Aerobian already waiting for them, talking to Chebek and Blister. "It's good to have you with us."

"I am talking, Cadet Redwood," replied the Mirror Ranger, before turning back to the two engineers. "Everything ready and in place for take-off?"

"It is," answered Blister. "I don't recommend you try anything to elaborate with the flying manoeuvres, no barrel roles through exploding supernovas…"

"That's just impossible," said Chebek. "Moron."

"I was not intending to do such a thing, Engineering Operative Blister," replied Falco. "This is only a scanning party; we'll go down to the planet with what we have, we'll follow the trace of what Techno 9 discovered with her scan and see what it is. If it's anything too dangerous, we'll fight it as best we can, retreat if we have to and put the word out."

"Sir, if that's the plan, a quick question," said Sandy. "What if it's some sort of thing that erases itself from your memory the moment you look away from it? Then what do we do?"  
"Kill it."

"So that's the great plan," said Lily, sarcastically. "Go down and look what we can find. If we don't like it, beat it down."

"Isn't that what we usually do anyway?" wondered Nick. "Isn't that the Cosmo Force Mantra?"  
"I thought it was something about protecting and serving," said Max. "Not look and punch."

Rather than say anything, Diana opened up her flask and took a swig of the Psyduck flavoured soup.

"We going to get this show on the road then?"

"To the shuttle!" exclaimed Sandy. "We need to get down there right now before anything else happens. Maybe we can end this struggle with Oblivion before the day is over."

"I doubt that," said Max. "For one thing, there were three planets on that chart. We'd almost certainly need to see the other two before that happens. But just maybe we can understand it better, gain a massive advantage in this war."

"Wondered how long it'd be before someone called it that," Falco replied, turning around to look at them. His voice was unquestionably dry.

"Because that's been the reality ever since the day they attacked the Stronghold. War. Dangerous powerful war that has taken casualties and will continue to do so until we stop them by any many means necessary."

"Which means that we'll probably have to wipe them out," commented Nick. "That's almost certainly the case."

"Might not be," said Lily. "They're shadows. Which means you can't physically hurt it without it having a host body."

"Think I already proved that you can," Diana said. "Remember when that one took control of me? I managed to kill it, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but for the 98.88888 % of the galaxy that doesn't have shape shifting abilities, that's not an option," replied Falco. "Now get on board, Cadets. We don't have much time.

* * *

After the shuttle landed, the six of them got out into the snow covered space port, five of the group immediately starting to shiver at the frigid winds rushing through the air around them.

"Man, it's freezing!" complained Nick. "Glad I'm not in my Geckile form, would be freezing my mrekking leaves off right now."

Lily laughed, waving a finger over at him. "This has to be karma. You may mock the fur, but I'm not the one who's cold."

As if to emphasise her point, she ran a finger across her black fur. "So there!"

"Hmmm," said Diana, from beneath her hood. "Have to try this."

A split second passed by, and in that time the yellow ranger transformed into an identical replica of Lily. "Ooh, she has a point. That is warm."

"Didn't I tell you about not using my form," remarked the real Lily. "It just creeps me out seeing another me."

"Yeah, creeps us out as well," said Nick. "I mean, one's bad enough. Don't need two."

"Hey!" protested Lily. "Says you, Geckile-Boy."

"Calm it down, Cadets," Falco said, idly. "This isn't a training exercise; there could be a very real threat of attack. Don't need to let them know we're coming if there is anything out there."

"I don't think we're going to get attacked at the space port, Sir," pointed out Sandy. "If it's going to happen, it's likely to be when we go out into the big white tundra."

"Just because we're going out there doesn't mean we're going to be attacked," said Diana. "That's just being negative."  
"I prefer to think of it as preparation for any circumstance," remarked Max. "Expect the unexpected and all that."

"Exactly," the Aerobian said. "Cadet Redwood is correct."

* * *

They had managed to get their hands on a rented speeder, one that didn't have a heating system in it, drawing complaints from Nick. As a half-Infernape, Max didn't appear to have too much trouble with the cold, Lily was covered in fur and Diana had taken on the aspects of a form that had no problem with the low temperatures, while both Sandy and Falco bore it without any complaints.

"Should hit it in the next half hour or so if Techno 9's coordinates are right," the Aerobian remarked. "Then we'll find whatever it is that someone was so keen on keeping hidden."

"How annoyed are we going to be if it turns out to be absolutely nothing?" Lily wondered. "Just where someone left their shopping or something."

"I highly doubt that'll be the case," Sandy said. "That map was old, older than any of us can imagine. If there are any foodstuffs involved, they'll probably have long since disintegrated."

"Thank you so much for that image, Sandy," Max muttered. "We're going to get mrekked over here, I just know it."

* * *

They had travelled a few miles further, when it happened. An orb of green energy swept down from out of nowhere and smashed down into the front of the speeder, sending it careening out of control and into a snow bank.

Thankfully, none of them were hurt.

"What the mrek just happened?" wondered Max, wiping at a cut on his face. "Any idea?"

"Bomarriors!" yelled Falco, moving to punch the hatch of the speeder open. He jumped out, spreading his wings as he rose into the air. "Move to attack!"

"Bomarriors?" Sandy repeated. "Oh mrek."

Already the beings in question were streaming over the horizon, big Abomasnow-like creatures wearing battle armour. They were thieves and murderers, able to survive in the intense cold and use their natural abilities to hunt down travellers.

Like Falco had done previously, the other five rangers quickly made to get out of the speeder, all taking up fighting stances.

"This is going to get rough, Rangers!" Falco yelled, bringing up his morpher. "Prepare to fight!"  
"Right!" exclaimed Max. "Let's do it!"

"Cosmosis!"

As one, the six rangers morphed into their suits, the Bomarriors streamed towards them. Not hesitating, they moved to defend themselves, Ma x kicked one in the face before slamming a pair of Fire Punches down into two more, knocking them out with his flaming fists. Sandy grabbed one by the throat, and with great effort tossed it into a pile of snow. It remained there, buried down face first, the booted legs swinging around in the air. The blue ranger then swung her body around and shot two of them in the face, taking them out. Lily punched one in the body before smashing its face in with her Cosmo Baton.

Meanwhile, Nick sprang up and nailed another Abomasnow-alien with his Leaf Blades, the energy appendages shooting out from his wrists to crash into the opponents face. It didn't do much damage, but it did manage to force it back where the green ranger then kicked it down to the ground and stamped its face into the snow. Diana's fist began to glow with a bright white light before she swung out and punched another in the face, throwing it way back up into a snow bank.

At the same time, Falco was battling three of them, keeping them all at bay with his fists and wings. None of them could get close to him; he was simply too fast for them to track him. One tried to beat him down with a Wood Hammer attack, only for him to feint to the side and smash his Mirror Wing into its face.

"Cadets!" he called, punching another one in the face. "Go on, you have to carry on with the mission. Find what it is, I'll hold them off."

"Commandant!" Sandy shouted. "Are you sure? There's too many of them. Some of us'll stop with you, you need…"  
"The mission, Cadet Garcia!" the Aerobian roared. "Get on with it! These things won't take me down, I guarantee it."

"If you're sure…" Max said, looking over to the Mirror Ranger. "Come on, guys. Let's get going."

* * *

They had ran for the best part of ten minutes, still following Techno 9's coordinates through the voice of the A.I in their headsets, when eventually they came across a slim tunnel in the side of a huge mountain.

"What do you think?" Diana asked. "Tunnel vision?"

"Seems as good an option as any," Max said. "Let's go. I'll take point, we see anything remotely bad in there, pull out immediately. I'll try to hold it back, the four of you get out."

"Wow, that's really noble," Lily said, sarcastically. "And stupid. First Falco, now you. Anybody else want to try and sacrifice themselves for the cause while we're at it?"

Max didn't say anything, instead going off to push his way through the tunnel, the other rangers following him soon after.

"I sure hope the Commandant is okay," Nick said, battling against the snow in the tunnel, the stuff being churned up by those ahead of him. "I mean, those Bomarriors could destroy him if…"

"Come on, Nick!" said Lily, rolling her eyes under her helmet. "He's Falco. You really think that a few damn Bomarriors could defeat him. He's just buying us some time and then we'll meet back up with him."

"You know what I wouldn't mind knowing?" Sandy remarked. "How, out of all the places on this planet that they could be, are in the exact place where we end up?"

"Guess it's just another one of the unsolved mysteries in life," said Diana, the light visible at the end of the tunnel. "Plenty of them out there and all that."

They fell silent as they approached the end of the tunnel, stepping out into the chamber beyond it. Once there, their jaws fell collectively at what they found.

"Holy mrekking lover of mrek!" exclaimed Lily. "What the mrek have we just walked into?"

Stood towering above them was the huge stone structure of a big white Regice.

"That's impossible!" Max exclaimed, looking up at the sight above them. "That's just… How has nobody ever found this thing before?"

"What I want to know is who would build something like that?" wondered Sandy. "Build it, fashion it, whatever it is."

"All part of the one big mystery that is this crazy world we're living in," said Diana, philosophically. "Just another piece of the Obliving puzzle… Wait a second! Obliving!"

From the shadows of the corner of the chamber, several of the black shadow creatures arose and began to move towards the Regice.

"What are they doing?" wondered Nick. "And how did they get here? Did they follow us?"

"It seems likely," replied Max. "And forget that, just stop them before something bad happens."

A hand fell down to the Cosmo Blaster at his waist, before bringing it up to fire at the creatures. The other rangers did the same, all to no avail as the shots either missed or failed to affect the target. All of the group managed to make it to the base of the Regice. They reached out to touch the statue, their hands outstretched…

… To make contact. And as soon as they had appeared, they vanished away, sucked into the stone creation. And, in no time at all, the Regice burst into life, the stones on its face flashing. It raised up its arms, crashing them into the roof. Around them, rubble started to tumble down to the ground, carving up the snow.

"That's not good!" exclaimed Lily. "This day just gets better and better, doesn't it."

"Man, guess we need to take this thing down before it does some damage," said Nick. "Thing that big could demolish half the planet if it's left unchecked."  
"If it could demolish half the planet, what's it going to do to our Megazord?" wondered Diana, sagely. "But yeah, see your point."

"We need the Cosmo Fighters now!" yelled Max, looking to the sky.

* * *

Swooping down from the sky above them, the Cosmo Fighters arrived on the scene, the automated transport systems bringing the rangers on board. In response to their arrival, the morph drives activated, transforming the Cosmo Fighter into their Zord forms.

"Activating morph drive 2.0. Cosmo Megazord formation!"

In response to the command, the five Zords began to change. The Infernape Zord's legs and arms tucked in to form a torso, all while the Grovyle split into two to form a pair of legs which attached to the bottom of the Infernape Zord. Both the Porygon and the Mightyena Zords moved up to form arms that became attached to the shoulders, the Porygon on the right, the Mightyena on the left. Finally, the Ditto Zord moved up to the top of the machine and covered the Infernape head to form an entirely new facial structure.

As it landed, the rangers quickly realised something, even though they had formed their Megazord, the Regice was still larger than them, the tip of the robots head came barely up to its shoulders.

"Man, we're screwed!" complained Nick. "That thing's going to topple the crap out of us!"

In response to that, the Regice threw out a punch to the Cosmo Megazord, the blow sending it staggering back down to the ground.

"Positivity wouldn't help," said Max. "I say we put this thing on ice. Fire Bomb Blast!"  
A pair of cannons emerged from the chest of the Megazord, sending a barrage of fireballs crashing into the lower part of the Regice. Other than a few burns left upon the surface of its body, no damage appeared to be done.

"What's your great plan now?" wondered Lily. "That did nothing!"

Almost as if it was backing her up, the Regice swung out another punch towards the Cosmo Megazord, the force of the punch sending it flying back through the side of the cavern and into the wastelands of Smaltempra.

* * *

Outside, Falco looked up to the source of the disturbance, shocked by the sight of the huge robot falling through the mountain, immediately followed out by the huge Regice. "What in the name is happening?" he wondered aloud, before turning back around to block a punch from a Bomarrior. It was one of the few remaining in the picture, some of them having already fled the scene at the sight of the Regice.

"Some warriors," he muttered, punching another one to the ground, one of the few remaining. "Think my rangers may need help. Techno 9, get the Night Hawk down here."

"At once, Sir," replied the artificial intelligence.

As the Night Hawk came swooping down out of the sky, the Mirror Ranger leaped up to get into the cockpit. Reaching down to a pad, he keyed in a code, pushing the numbers four, eight, seven and one, the input bringing the console to life.

"Activating morph drive! Mirror Hawk Megazord!"

Responding to the command, the Night Hawk transformed into a mechanical Pidgeot. Soaring through the air, the Pidgeot began to change, the face moving forward to balance on the body, revealing a new humanoid face ahead of the Pidgeot crest. The legs moved down to the rear of the figure, combining with the tail feathers to create legs. The wings stayed where they were, while a pair of arms emerged from the body, the talons from the feet moving up to attach to the end of the hands. The transformation complete, the Mirror Hawk Megazord landed on the ground.

"Okay, let's see what we can do with this thing," said the Mirror Ranger, the giant robot flying up into the air to come landing next to the Regice. No sooner had it come to a perfect landing did the giant statue throw a punch at it, the blow knocking the Mirror Hawk Megazord onto the ground.

"About as well as us it seems, Commandant," called Diana. "You got a plan? Because we already tried to firebomb it and that did the broad side of nothing."

"It would appear that conventional attacks are of little use," commented Sandy. "But, just to prove that point. Cyber Pulse!"  
Her command rang out, the Porygon arm rose up and fired a bright blue beam towards the Regice, the blast striking it in the lower part of the body and not doing anything to it.

"Thank you for that demonstration, Cadet Garcia," said Falco. "But I suggest we try to go for the most vulnerable part."

"What's that then?" wondered Nick. "Legs? Arms? Face…"

"The eyes, Cadet Miele," replied the Aerobian. "Aim at the face, those golden dots that I presume to be its eyes."

"Already tried, Sir," said Max. "My Fire Bomb Blast attack was aimed at the face; I imagine Sandy's Cyber Pulse was as well."

"You know what it means, don't you," said Sandy. "Best theory I can formulate, there's some sort of protective field around its weak spot. It's kinetically bending our attacks away from it before they can land a blow."

"So, what do you suggest, Sandy?" wondered Lily. "How can we hurt it then?"  
"We've only tried projectile attacks in this instance," the blue ranger said. "What about a physical blow? In theory, that should work. It can't bend the damage that way; at least it shouldn't be able to."

"Then I guess we know what needs to be done," said Falco. "Let's take it together on my count of one, two, three…"

"Shadow Uppercut!" yelled Lily, the Cosmo Megazord charging forward. It leaped up into the air, the Mightyena fist glowing with a black energy.

"… Four, five, Air Slash!" Falco shouted, unable to help but roll his eyes at the way she had completely misinterpreted his order. His own Megazord leaped up and struck out with its talons, only for the Regice to throw out both arms, first swiping away the Cosmo Megazord with one hand, and then knocking back the Mirror Hawk Megazord with the other one.

"No!" the Mirror Ranger barked, angry. "I wasn't finished, Cadet Yushaa! We're not going to stop this thing unless we are in complete synchronicity."

"What, like someone and their reflection in a mirror?" quipped Sandy. "What's your plan, Sir?"

"The comparison you draw is admirable, Cadet Garcia," replied Falco. "There might be one way to work this. Alone, we cannot stop this thing, as two individuals we are outmatched. But in conjunction…"

"You do know that these two Megazords can't combine together, Mr. Griote," asked Techno 9, interrupting him. "It wasn't written into their programming."

"I know," he said. "That was never my plan."

"So what do we do then?" asked Max. "Sir, what's your great plan."

"I need you to follow my instructions to the letter," the Mirror Ranger said, calmly. "Can you all do that?"

"We're prepared to do it, Commandant," said the red ranger. "Just give us our instructions."

* * *

As he relayed what he had to say, the two Megazords began to slowly move into position. The Mirror Hawk Megazord went over to stand behind the Cosmo Megazord, reaching out both arms to take the other robot by the shoulders.

"Ready?" Falco asked. "Ready to take flight?"  
"Do it, Commandant," said Sandy. "We're ready to get high."

"Then prepare for take-off!"

The Mirror Hawk Megazord flared out its wings and then rose up into the air, carrying the Cosmo Megazord in its grip. High it soared into the sky, raising it above the head of the Regice.

"Think we're high enough, Sir?" Lily asked. "Can see its big ugly face from here."

"I think we're high enough," Nick said. "Let's take this thing down and out. Bag it and tag it."

"Amen to that," said Max. "Star Blade!"  
The weapon appeared in the hand of the Cosmo Megazord. "Ready when you are, Sir," called Diana. "Let go at your leisure!"

The Mirror Ranger hit a button in front of him, letting the other robot fall from the Mirror Hawk Megazord's grasp.

"Star Blade Assault!"

As the Cosmo Megazord fell through the air, the sword began to glow with a bright white light. While still falling, the giant robot brought it up and slashed into the Regice's face several times. The statue stopped moving, turning as still as the stone it was made of. The face was completely demolished by the blows, the rangers only allowed a brief glimpse of their damage as the Megazord continued to fall, landing at the foot of the shaking statue.

"Nice hit, Rangers!" Falco yelled. The giant Regice gave one final shake and then began to crumble, starting off from the top and finishing at the bottom. In moments, it was a pile of white stone, still towering over both Megazords. "We did it!"

* * *

"I don't believe it!" Diana complained, kicking up a pile of snow. "After all that, there's nothing here. What a waste."

"Cadet Camerons," said Falco, looking over to her. After the battle, the six of them had morphed out of their ranger suits and gone back to the chamber, hoping to find something of value. "I suspected as much before the time, but has it not occurred to you that the big secret here may have been the thing that attacked us?"

"I had thought that," the yellow ranger replied. "But, decided that it couldn't be, really. I mean, who would build something like that and then hide it somewhere nobody would ever find it?"

"Someone who wanted to waste our time?" asked Lily. "Because, other than splattering a few more Oblivings, was there really any point us coming here?"

"I'm sure that you could have put that better if you wanted to, Cadet Yushaa," Falco said, dryly. "But, I agree. There's nothing here worth finding, I believe that Regice was about all there was to be found. And we destroyed it. Maybe there's something in the rubble, I don't know. But there's nothing in this cavern at all."

"So, what was the point of it all then?" asked Max. "We need to find out what the point of it all is. Maybe then we can work out what to do about this problem. Because there aren't any answers here."

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Hmmm…**

**Like that? Big ol' Regice statue. And the real start of the season arc.**

**What is the point of the Regice statue? Only time will tell.**

**Thanks for the reviews. They're all appreciated.**

**It's slowly getting towards the conclusion.**

**The next one is entitled Flare. Same drill, don't know when it'll be up. But I'll try to make it as soon as possible. But preview is below.**

**Still after a blue ranger for Dragon Strike as well, wanting a male one and most of them I've got have been female. Dropping hints.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading.**

**Don't forget to review! Please!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Three, Flare, preview.**

**Falco: The Council has a task for you, Rangers.**

**Lily: Yeah, these are always so much fun.**

**Nick: Space Station Thirteen. Owned by Romerenko Enterprises.**

**?: Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we are here to witness a thing of natural beauty.**

**Max: That can't be good.**

**Sandy: Someone's hijacked the controls. When the solar flare happens, they're going to burn us all alive**

* * *

**Coming at some point.**


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